Lonely For You
by pandajay
Summary: **On Hiatus** Seth Rollins is at the top of his game in his life and his career. Katherine is happier than she's ever been with her career, friends and family, and life in general. Then they meet each other by chance and it's an instant connection. Are they meant for more or just meant to be friends? Can they overcome distance and differences? Starts in late 2014. WWE/Alt Univ
1. Fish Out Of Water

**I'm back! With a whole new story and a whole new set of ideas!**

 **I don't own anyone or anything that is related to the WWE (although I wouldn't mind owning some of those belts...). I am only in control of my original characters!**

 **I wanted to change some things up and go back in time and explore some pre-injury/pre-champion/post-SHIELD stuff, so this is what I've come up with...**

 **I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think :)**

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 **Chapter 1: Fish Out Of Water**

Katherine Bolton stepped into the sports bar in Indianapolis, Indiana, looking around for her group of friends she was supposed to be meeting.

It was a chilly night in early October and she was trailing behind her friends who had already been out for an hour or so. She had to finish up some work, though, and had finally arrived to commence their night of bad bar food, drinks and Thursday night football.

She spotted her group across the bar at a long high top and wound her way through the tables to them.

She was greeted with warm smiles, hugs and cheek kisses as she shimmied out of her black jacket and removed her beanie, shaking out and smoothing down her hair chocolate brown and lightly tinted red long, wavy hair.

They carried on with their conversation as if her appearance hadn't interrupted them and she settled in to listen and pick up on what kind of conversation she had walked into.

They were discussing the series of shows they had coming up the next couple of nights, the very reason they were even in Indiana.

She frowned slightly; she wasn't in the mood to talk about more work after being immersed in it in her hotel room for the last hour.

"Hey do we have a waitress?" Katherine asked after sitting for a bit.

"Um, she's been around. She's kind of flaky," her friend immediately to her right, Nicole, answered with a small shrug.

"Do you need a drink? I'll go to the bar and get you one," her companion to the left, David, jumped in.

"Nah, I'll go myself," she mumbled and reached to her coat pocket for her phone and her small wallet purse she had stuffed her ID and credit card in.

"You want some company?" He asked.

"I got it," she smiled.

She slid out of the high chair and started toward the bar, ignoring the slight frown on his face. Her knee high equestrian boots caused a low 'thud' as she walked, even with the bar sounds around her.

She sidled up the bar, sighed, and pulled out her phone to scroll while she waited on the bartender to notice her.

Nothing; her notifications were completely silent and she had no inclination to scroll any of her social media timelines. Not tonight. She wanted to detach from work as much as she could.

She slid her phone back into her back pocket and glanced to her sides, assessing the potential avenues for a friendly chat while she waited to be served.

There were two older gentlemen to her left, gray hair and disheveled suits, nursing tall glasses of beer.

 _No thanks._

She looked to the right and tilted her head slightly, taking in the guy sitting on that side of her.

He looked relatively young; beanie covering his hair, although she could make out a bit of a ponytail, black glasses and a black t-shirt with jeans.

He was leaning on his forearms on the bar in front of him, a glass half full of beer sitting in between his arms, and his eyes were fixed to the TV screens above the bar.

The football game faded to a commercial and his eyes dropped to his glass of beer before he reached for it to take a sip.

Katherine bit her lip, narrowing her gaze at him; she was getting a somewhat 'off' vibe from him.

She took a small step closer before speaking.

"You look a little bit like a fish out of water," she stated.

His eyes, dark eyes, and head both turned on her, giving her a confused look. He quickly looked her up and down; a somewhat tall brunette in black leggings and a long, plaid shirt. He didn't completely hate that she just spoken to him, even if it had caught him completely off guard. He was never going to shy away from attention from an attractive girl.

"Me?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Wh…why?"

She shrugged, "I don't know you just seem a little sad and I feel like being in a really cool sports bar with amazing food and a wall of craft beers in front of you isn't an occasion to be sad."

He chuckled, glancing down at his drink before turning his eyes back on her, "I didn't realize I was giving off that vibe."

"You don't want to be here do you?"

"No, I was forced to come here by some of my friends."

"Why?"

"Because I've been a little sad," he shrugged.

A slow smile crept onto Katherine's face and she licked her lips before extending her hand to him, "I'm Katherine but pretty much everyone calls me Ren."

"Like the bird?"

"Like the bird. Spelled differently, though. There's no W."

"I'm Seth," he shook her hand. "It's spelled just like Seth is supposed to be spelled; the S included."

Katherine gave him a sly look. She appreciated his snark. The bartender approached, asking Katherine what she wanted to drink and seeing if he wanted another beer.

"So why are you over here all alone and not with your friends? Where _are_ your friends?" she asked after the bartender walked away from them.

He pointed towards the end of the bar to a table with three guys and three girls sitting at it, "I didn't have a good view of the game from the table and the Bears are my team."

"That's it?"

"I'm avoiding one of the girls, too."

"Which one?"

"Black hair."

"The one that looks like a vampire? Scorned lover?" Ren grinned.

"You're very inquisitive…" Seth said, trailing off to take a sip of his drink.

"Well that's a yes."

"It isn't a 'yes' per say. It's complicated." he stopped and frowned slightly.

"She's all over you like a vulture and you don't want her to be?"

"Something like that. I don't know why I'm telling you this. This is…inappropriate…"

"Because I asked you," Katherine snickered and then smiled brightly when the bartender sat her drink in front of her. She reached to her back pocket for her card and Seth waved her off.

"Put it on mine," he looked at the bartender, taking the last sip of the beer in his glass and sliding it to him before cradling the new one.

"You don't have to do that," she said. "Seriously, that wasn't what I was trying to do…"

"It's fine," he said.

"Well thank you."

"So what about you? Why are you alone up here telling strangers they look sad?"

She smirked and he caught a flare of the neon bar signs reflecting off of her green eyes.

"My friends are over your right shoulder at the table by the Colts jersey. They were being boring and I needed a drink. Also I'm avoiding someone."

"Which one?" he questioned, glancing behind him.

"Plaid shirt."

"Scorned lover?" He turned a playful look on her.

"Something like that. Is it ok if I sit?"

"You've already interrogated me so you might as well."

"Feisty," she mumbled while pulling out the bar seat and sliding into it. He shared a smile with her as she settled in. "So, if you want the story?"

"Let's hear it."

"So plaid shirt; his name is David. The guy in the kind of sweater looking pullover his name is Jeff. He's been a friend of mine for like 7 or 8 years. David is his guitar player."

"It's always the guitar players. What kind of music?"

"Country."

He made a face, his nose wrinkling.

"Oh I could've guessed you weren't a fan," she chuckled.

"Not particularly; it's not all bad. I like Johnny Cash."

"Well I won't give you a total black mark on your report then."

He nodded, a half smile. "Fair enough."

"So David is in lust with me. I've never…we've never hooked up; even with all the nights of whiskey I've had around him. He's just…he's always had a thing for me and any time I'm single he hangs on me like a little puppy. I hate being in social situations with him because he's just...I don't know, I guess I shouldn't complain about someone being interested but it's a bit much sometimes. It's a little suffocating."

"Why are you here then? You could've stayed home."

"Hotels can get really suffocating, too."

"I didn't think you lived here."

"Jeff has a couple shows up here this weekend, he's doing a showcase, trying to get a deal and whatever whatever; live the dream. I told him I would come do some photography for him. How could you tell I didn't live here?"

"I travel a lot, I'm pretty good at deciphering natives from visitors, and you don't have the right kind of accent to be from around here."

"I could have moved."

"I'll take my chances."

"Are you a native?"

"No, I'm here for work."

"Hmph," she made a soft noise, a slight smirk playing on her lips, and took the slight silent moment to sip her drink.

"So you're a photographer?"

"Kind of," she replied, shrugging and taking another small sip of her drink.

"Kind of?"

"My day job is Director of Media for a radio station; photography, video, social media, live events; right now I'm mostly supervising interns, though- I do some on air stuff. On the side I'll photograph events and weddings and stuff for my friends."

"Radio?" He made an impressed face, taking his turn to sip his beer. "Well…"

"Impressed?"

"Maybe a little bit. What kind of radio?" He studied her for a minute, sitting back against the chair back.

"Country," she replied, smiling.

"I would have never guessed that," he smiled back at her.

It was a slightly arrogant smile and she lifted her eyebrows, silently questioning his sarcasm.

"It's the XM station in Nashville."

"Hmph," he mimicked her noise from a few moments earlier, smiling as he sipped his beer.

"So what's the work you're here for that causes you to travel a lot? International assassin?" She asked, turning slightly on the bar chair and crossing her legs. Her foot brushed lightly against his leg and he cocked his head at her.

"I'm a lawyer," he gave her a cheeky look.

"I haven't even had a whole drink yet, I'm not that gullible. Try again."

"Wrestling, I'm a wrestler."

"Like...wait..." She uncrossed her legs and sat up straight in her chair. "Like Monday night RAW wrestler?"

"Yeah like Monday night RAW wrestler; WWE."

She cocked her head to the side slightly, studying him. He gave her an assessing look in return. She leaned up slightly and reached up to the edge of his beanie, lifting it up slightly.

Then she laughed. It was a warm and endearing laugh; genuine. Her eyes crinkled slightly at the corner and he found himself a little drawn to it.

"I'll be fucked, I know who you are," she exclaimed. "I can't forget that blonde streak. Your face was plastered all over my building for like a month. I mean; I recognize you, I don't _know_ you…"

"Your building?"

"Yeah, Bridgestone, in Nashville. You guys had a show there a month or two ago and the posters were everywhere. They were even in the bathroom which was kind of creepy."

"I take it you aren't an actual fan, though?"

"No, not really. My brother is and my roommate and her fiancé are...I grew out of it once I hit middle school. Huh, small fucking world. The glasses are a good touch."

"Did you watch the show in Nashville?"

"A little bit. I was working late that night and popped in for a little bit but I didn't stick around long. I knew some people that were there, though. My boss was there." She glanced over her shoulder at the group of people he had pointed out t her earlier, "are they wrestlers, too?"

"Yeah."

"Which ones are they?"

"Um, the girls are Paige and Alicia Fox and Renee. The guys are Roman, Dean and one of our stage crew guys, his name is Adam."

He took another moment to explain to her which one of them was which and she took the final sip of her drink, smiling.

"Do a shot with me," she half stated, half asked, leaning against the bar. The neon sign near them bounced off her green eyes again.

"Eh, I don't know," he shook his head, "I have to do a meet and greet and a show tomorrow, I would like to feel like a human."

"It's celebratory," she countered.

"What exactly would we be celebrating? Is it your birthday or something?"

"We would be celebrating the fact that our paths have crossed before and we didn't know it. I mean, we're strangers, but we're kind of not. It's kind of like serendipity, yeah?"

"That's a terribly cheesy, awful, movie."

"That wasn't my point."

"I'll do one shot," he held up his finger, "just one; for celebratory purposes."

Ren ordered their shots and they continued on with their sporadic conversation of 'getting to know a stranger in a bar' questions and other topics. She asked quite a few things about wrestling. The football game was mostly forgotten.

"Hey, Ren…" she looked behind her at the hand gracing her shoulder.

"Oh hey, Nic; this is Seth. Seth, this is my friend Nicole."

Nicole smiled brightly at him and he gave her a warm smile and small wave.

"Um so I was sent to fetch you. We're headed back to the hotel. I mean feel free to stay, by all means, but if you wanted to split a ride with us the boys are ready to call it a night."

"I'll be there in a minute," Ren smiled.

Nicole gave her a tight mouthed nod and retreated back towards the table. Ren locked eyes with David and then turned her gaze back on Seth.

"I didn't intend to spend the whole evening sitting here talking to a stranger," she said.

"Almost stranger," he corrected.

"You're catching on," she winked at him. She sighed heavily and slid off of the bar chair to the floor. "Are you sure you want to pay for these? Seriously, I wasn't…"

"Yes, I'm positive."

"Ok, well, thank you for the conversation. It made my night a lot better than I anticipated." She slid her phone into the back pocket of her jeans and flipped her lose hair over her shoulder, studying him. "I'm pretty sure all of my friends are annoyed with me but fuck em'."

"Thanks for calling me out about being Eeyore," he replied, a smirk on his face, "but my night was a lot more enjoyable than I anticipated, too."

He watched as she opened up her wallet and slid out a card.

"If you ever find yourself in need of a photographer, or a Nashville tour guide, or you're sad in a bar again; that number is my cell number."

"Did you really just hand me a business card?" he smirked.

"I keep it professional, always, and writing my number on a bar napkin just isn't classy."

"Thank you," he nodded, holding up the card between his middle and index finger and nodding. "I hope you have a good night and a good weekend."

"You too. Good luck at your shows."

She gave him a last bright smile and turned on her heel, trekking across the bar to her waiting group of friends. He watched her for a moment as she grabbed her coat and started a lively conversation with Nicole and they started towards to the main door.

He smirked, chuckling to himself, and shook his head. That was unexpected. It was a good unexpected, though. It had taken his mind off of things for awhile; lifted his mood.

He caught movement in his direct eye line as Dean sauntered over to him.

"I'm surprised it took you this long to come over here," Seth dryly stated.

"I wasn't going to interrupt that. What _was_ that?"

"I don't know what it was," he shrugged. "A conversation in a bar. It was nice, though. She started talking to me; I just went with it..."

"She was a looker..."

"Yes, she was," he nodded, smirking. He looked at the small amount of beer left in his glass and downed it quickly.

"Did you get her number?"

"Yeah."

"My man," Dean patted his back.

"Mmm, we'll see. She doesn't live here and neither do I so it's probably pointless. Is it safe to go over there?"

"Oh yeah, Paige is drunk she doesn't give a shit about you right now."

He rolled his eyes, "good."


	2. Better Than Nothing

**Happy Friday! Happy weekend! It's a snow day here in Tennessee! (It is SO SO SO cold!) and I wanted to give all of you another update so you could have something to read over the weekend!**

 **Thank you to everyone that has reviewed, favorited and followed this story/me in the last few days! I have LOVED seeing some of the same people that were reading 'Reclaim' join me in this journey :) Feel free to PM me if you ever have any questions or just want to complain about something! Happy reading ahead, ya'll!**

 **** I still haven't figured out the best way to represent a text conversation in my writing yet because I feel like putting a name in front of it is just too much clutter...so bear with me while I figure it out, please?!**

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 **Chapter 2: Better Than Nothing  
**

Monday after noon, home from her brief trip to Indianapolis, Ren was in her kitchen in her home in Nashville, her music shuffling on her Spotify on her phone that was sitting docked in a speaker, as she darted around her kitchen trying to prepare dinner.

She heard the lock on the door rattling in the living room and the door open, followed by a small bark and her roommate's voice.

"Hi sugar cakes!" He roommate crooned at their dog before she appeared in the doorway. "Smells good, what are we having? And what's the occasion?"

Ren threw a look over her shoulder to her roommate and friend, Amber, "why does it have to be a special occasion for me to make dinner?"

"Because usually making dinner means we have frozen pizza, spaghetti or take out Chinese and hibachi that we reheat. And you've only been home for what, like five hours? Laziness is the perfect excuse not to make dinner."

Ren sighed, stirring one of the pots on the stove. "I cook for us…"

"You do but we're also really busy and don't feel like cooking…so what's the occasion?"

"Okay well yours truly is going to be in Nashville Lifestyles, it's some special 'women in the music industry' piece."

"And they chose you? They must have been running low on options…"

"You're a bitch."

Amber laughed, "You left yourself open for that one. That's great news, Ren."

"It's going to be me and Shelby and Amy from one of the other stations. We're going to have a photo shoot and interview and a big reveal, dinner thing when the issue comes out. It's all very ritzy and glamorous- be jealous."

"You're practically an A-lister now."

"Yeah, so I'm making us a celebratory dinner. Sun dried tomato chicken and creamy Alfredo sauce, with pasta of course because we eat all the carbs."

"All the carbs!" Amber crossed over and gave her friend a one armed hug, "I'm super happy for you Ren. I'll tell Tyler to bring home some wine or something."

"Perfect," Ren winked at her and then hip bumped her.

Amber and Ren had been friends since they were in middle school. Ren had moved in three houses down from Amber and while she was walking her dog around the neighborhood on the first day, she ran in to Amber and her brother. Amber had invited her over and as Amber's mom tells the story "she never went home". They had generally been inseparable since then. Amber was currently in Law School at Vanderbilt, her fiancé was an EMT and the three of them shared a house on the outskirts of Nashville.

The house belonged to Ren, she had bought it when she moved back to Nashville after graduating from college, but she had every intention of handing it over to Amber and Tyler once they got married the next spring.

She would move on to the next part of her life, whatever that part ended up being.

"What in the world are you listening to?" Amber asked, scooping up the cat and scratching its belly as she took a seat at the table in the bay window of their kitchen.

"Oh it's some new guy that Jonathan asked me to listen to. He's going to be on the new artist's corner show this week. He's not bad; he's got a good voice but…"

"He's too pop."

"Yeah it's bro country and I'm not a fan but what do I know? I just take pictures and ask questions off of a script…" Ren shrugged.

"Hmph well I'm going to go shower before the food is ready."

"Have at it. Let Cash out before you go upstairs please!"

Later that evening, Ren made her way into the living room, full glass of wine in her hand and her dog close at her heels. She was tired, not sleepy but tired, after a long morning drive back from Indiana and her Betty Crocker moment for dinner. She also had a full belly and the combination of the two feelings made her want to do nothing more than relax and have some wine. Amber and Tyler were perched on the couch in the room and she snuggled up in their oversized chair, propping her feet up on the ottoman while pulling the throw blanket off the back of it. Cash jumped on to the ottoman to lie at her feet. She situated herself and took a sip from her glass of wine before she realized Tyler and Amber were staring at her.

"What?" Ren asked

"You know it's Monday, right?" Tyler asked.

"Yes, I do."

"You know we watch Monday night RAW and Monday nights, right?" he added.

"Yes, I do."

"You never watch wrestling with us," Amber added.

Ren shrugged and took another sip of her drink, "I just felt like it tonight. I haven't really watched it since I was like nine…I want to see how it's changed…"

Tyler and Amber passed a look between each other and then Amber turned her attention back to Ren, eyes slightly wide, silently questioning and assessing her.

"Stop it," Ren said.

" _Katherine…_ " Amber said, drawing out her name. "Explain, please?"

She sighed and frowned and gave her friend an exasperated look.

"I met one of the wrestlers in Indy at the Bluff's a few nights ago and I just wanted to watch tonight, ok? Can we not make a big deal out of this? I'm curious."

"What?" Ren looked at Amber and offered another shrug to her. "Wait, who?"

"Seth…"

Tyler chuckled next to Amber and shook his head. "Of all the people to meet him in a bar it was you."

"He was really nice. We watched the football game and had a couple drinks and talked. He told me about wrestling some and I just…wanted to watch tonight."

"Please tell me you didn't sleep with him."

" _No_ , I did not sleep with him. You know I don't do that." Amber continued to give her friend an unbelieving look. "Can you stop looking at me like that, please?"

"Is that it? You just met him in a bar?"

"I followed him on twitter but he didn't follow me back. I also gave him my number and I haven't heard from him so yes, that's it."

Amber frowned. "I'm sorry, Ren…"

"You don't have to be sorry; we had a conversation in a bar. It's not a big deal."

"Well he's an idiot for not calling you," Tyler added.

"Thank you," Ren smirked, "but I'm serious that it's not a big deal. It's a good story to tell. I was just curious about watching an actual show."

"Well we have to tell you the storylines."

"I'm all ears."

Later that night, Seth was settled in the back seat of an SUV; Roman to his left and Dean and Renee occupying the front seat. He had gotten used to traveling on his own over the past couple of weeks but had decided to join his friends this week at their asking. He was pretty sure they just wanted an extra person to drive, neither of the guys trusted Renee, but he was fine with it.

Renee was either asleep, or almost asleep, her head was leaning against the window. Roman was doing the same thing Seth was doing, putting all of his attention on his phone.

He had realized that Ren had followed him on Twitter and had made the classic mistake of going to her profile which led to him reading through tweets and then looking through her media posts.

"Hey, who is that?" Roman piped in, interrupting Seth's solace and thoughts.

"Um, Katherine...or Ren...the girl that I met the other night," Seth answered.

"Bar girl?" Dean asked from the driver's seat.

"She has a name but yes, bar girl."

"Did she text you?"

"No, he's twitter stalking her," Roman answered.

Seth sighed and rolled his eyes. He was now regretting his decision to travel with his two friends.

Renee's head popped up, "who are we twitter stalking?"

"Bar girl," Dean answered.

"Who is bar girl?" Renee gave him a confused look.

"That girl that he was talking to the other night when we were in Indy."

"I don't remember her," Renee frowned and turned in her seat to look at Seth and Roman. "Is this a groupie or…?"

"You were drunk, Renee, of course you don't remember her," Roman commented.

"She's not a groupie; she's just a girl..."

"She gave him her number but I don't think he's used it yet," Dean piped in, glancing at his friend in the rear view mirror and giving him a cheek smile.

"Why haven't you text her? She gave you her number?" Renee asked Seth.

"She gave me her card that had her number on it. She said 'if you're ever in Nashville let me know'; so I haven't text her, or called her, because I don't really know that it was an open invitation to contact her at midnight while I'm out on the road being harassed by the three of you."

"Oh, he's grumpy," Dean laughed.

Renee reached over and playfully hit Dean before turning back to Seth,"Did she follow you or did you follow her?"

"She followed me."

"Let me see," Renee held out her hand and wiggled her fingers, beckoning for his phone. He frowned and reluctantly handed it over to her. Renee started to read her bio aloud, " RenBoltRadio – They let me boss people around. I take pictures and tweet things. Nashville – Columbia – Chicago . Oh, she has a sports blog! And she's a photographer and social media girl...marry her, right now. Also, I'm following her. She's super cute, Rollins..."

"Yeah I know she is. Can I have my phone back?" Renee handed it back to him before she pulled out her own phone. "You're really following her?"

"Yes I am. I feel like we could be friends, especially if you're going to be talking to her."

Seth started to speak and then stopped himself. He had a feeling this was going to be losing battle between him and the other three occupants of the car.

"You should call her or at least text her," Roman shrugged.

"Yeah I agree," Renee added. "She did give you her number and it's kind of a dick move to not even try and reach out to her. She followed you, so she looked up, so there has to be some kind of interest there."

"I will take all of your suggestions into consideration since I'm apparently not a goddamn adult that has spoken to a female before," he grumbled.

"And he's still grumpy..." Dean said.

Ren was settled in the living room by herself, going through some TV shows they all had saved on the DVR. They had more than enough room but Ren was almost OCD about clearing out shows that had been watched and she had several episodes of Ink Master to catch up on.

Her phone was lying in her lap and her screen lit up, a text alert sounding in the relatively quiet room. She glanced down at it and picked it up, assessing the number that she didn't recognize. She opened her screen and pulled up the message and then a smile formed on her face.

 _ **Hey it's Seth...**_  
 _ **I hope it's ok if I text you. I know it's kind of late.**_

'Well, well, well,' she thought to herself as she looked at the two texts. She heard from him after all; even if it was almost midnight.

 _ **Kind of late? It's practically 'tomorrow' already...**_ She responded.

 _ **Side effect of my profession, I'm up all night.**_

 _ **Sounds more like a hooker or stripper if you ask me...**_  
 _ **Please don't tell me you're alone and sad in a bar again?**_

 _ **No bored in a car.**_

 _ **Do NOT text and drive. Seriously, bro.**_

 _ **I'm not I'm a passenger. Dean is driving, Renee is asleep and Roman is on the phone with his wife and it's kind of awkward.**_

Ren read his message and paused, thinking to herself. So he was bored in the car at almost midnight and he decided to text her. What did that mean? He had waited four days to acknowledge her after their conversation in Indianapolis. Was he just biding his time because nobody else had answered him? Was it really _her_ that he wanted to talk to?

Her phone vibrated again before she had the chance to decide on a response.

 _ **I followed you back on Twitter. I may have timeline stalked you a little bit.**_

 _ **Why? Wasn't sure it was me?**_

 _ **I don't know anybody else that has the same nickname as a bird's name so I knew it was you. I was just curious about you...**_

 _ **Did your curiosity get satisfied?**_

 _ **Not at all. I have a few questions actually.**_

Ren smiled at her phone and bit her lip. She felt a little stir of butterflies and she sat her phone down in her lap and took a deep breath. Maybe he did really want to talk to her. Even if he didn't, the fact that he was texting her was exciting for her. She had really enjoyed talking to him in the bar and she had found herself over the last couple of days wishing she could talk to him more, hence the reason she had looked for his social media accounts.

 _ **Well I have time to answer them.**_

 _ **Are you sure? I don't want to keep you awake. I know you probably have to work tomorrow?**_

 _ **I do.**_

 _ **What time do you have to go to work?**_

 _ **I get up between 5:30-6 everyday.**_

 _ **Fuck that…you should go to sleep. I'm sorry…**_

 _ **It's okay. I just started an episode of Ink Master so you have at least 45 minutes to get your questions in before I go to bed.**_

 _ **That's better than nothing...**_


	3. Like the Rock?

**Happy Monday all! Just as a 'heads up' you guys probably get pretty frequent updates to this story for a bit! I already have like 12 chapters of it written (I'm just making some tweaks to them)...so for now, every couple of days :) I don't want to spoil you all TOO much, though...**

 **Thank you to everyone that has reviewed, favorited and followed this story/me in the last few days! I have LOVED seeing some of the same people that were reading 'Reclaim' and 'Redesign & Rebuild' join me in this journey :) Feel free to PM me if you ever have any questions or just want to complain about something! I love hearing from you all! Happy reading ahead, ya'll!**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Like...the Rock?**

Ren wound her way through the desks and cubicles on the open floor of the radio offices in Bridgestone Arena. She balanced her coffee mug in one hand, her cell phone cradled between her fingers and the edge of the mug, and she had a stack of files tucked under her other arm. She was determined to get to her office as quickly as possible, enjoy her caffeine, and hide from her boss and any other responsibilities for at least an hour. She was tired and just wanted a little bit of time to decompress and regroup herself and savor some caffeine hitting her bloodstream.

Her 45 minute timeline she had given Seth the night before had turned into 2 hours until she fell asleep in the middle of their conversation. Her alarm had come way too early for her liking that morning, even after she had hit the snooze button three times. Between the commute to work with all of the traffic that seemed to be worse than usual and her lack of sleep, she was struggling and she was slightly grumpy. She briefly considered if it would be possible for her to hide in her office and snooze for half an hour before she actually started her work day.

She rounded the corner of a cubicle and spotted her boss a few feet away from her and she stopped in her tracks, mumbling a 'fuck' to herself. She closed her eyes and groaned and then opened them and continued heading towards her office.

 _Pretend you're invisible, Katherine, and maybe he won't notice you…_ she thought to herself.

"Katherine," He said warmly and smiled at her as she got closer.

"Jonathan!" She smiled brightly at him in greeting.

"She has returned from her vacation."

"I would hardly call spending the weekend in snow covered Indianapolis a vacation but yeah we can go with that," she shrugged.

"I hope those folders under your arm are the midterm evaluations I need for the interns."

"They are."

"Good, do them right now because I needed them yesterday." She frowned at him and he returned the frown by giving her another warm smile. "I know, you love it, and you're welcome...you don't have to tell me thank you."

"Why do you stick me with the interns anyways?"

"Because you hate it."

"Right, so you're telling me you just enjoy playing Satan?"

"Exactly, now go do the evals. Don't forget the staff meeting after lunch, either."

"Who do you think I am? I have a memory like an elephant..."

"Okay, Ren."

She scowled at him and continued her way to her office. Her coworker and office mate, and good friend, Shelby, was close on her heels.

"I still don't know how you get away with talking to him like that. You literally just called him Satan..."

"Well he scares you, so that would be your first problem," Ren replied as she dropped the folders on her desk and settled in her chair. "It also helps that he and my brother were fraternity brothers once upon a time and he's pretty much like a big brother to me...you know all of this. I get to call him Satan because I've seen him passed out in our back yard in a Santa hat. My dad calls him 'son'…"

"I know it just always amuses me," Shelby shrugged.

"He pays me back by making me babysit college toddlers all year long so don't be jealous of it or anything."

"We were those college toddlers that were being babysat once upon a time..."

"Okay but how old were you when you did your internship? 22? That was six years ago and I am telling you _we_ were not that bad. I wasn't at least. I had my shit together and I definitely didn't show up hung over 4 days out of the week and I definitely knew the basics of holding down a job. These idiots are literal toddlers...I have to hold their hands through everything. Fucking millenials..."

"Aren't we considered millenials?"

"We are but I don't claim it," Ren shrugged. She sipped her coffee and watched her coworkers that were milling around in the open area of the office.

Shelby and Katherine were friend s from high school. They had gone to the same college together and ended up in different places once they graduated, but when Katherine came back to Nashville she had been pleasantly happy that her one job offer came from the same place Shelby worked. They had instantly reconnected.

"You were lame when we were in college. You didn't really hit your stride until 25, I'd say...and now you just sound like an old lady. You should run out in the hallway and yell at one of them to get off your lawn."

"Shut up."

"Turn down your music!" Shelby continued to tease.

"I would never say that!"

Ren's phone sounded from next to her coffee mug and she glanced down at it quickly, eager to see who the text was from. She had responded to the last text she had gotten from Seth when she woke up that morning and she was in full-on 'teenage crush' mode waiting to hear back from him. She had no idea what time he had gotten to his hotel or when he would be awake but she was on the edge of her seat.

"Heyo, what was that?" Shelby asked, spinning her chair fully around to face her friend.

"A text message," Ren muttered her reply. She picked up her phone and quickly sent a response to her brother; that was disappointing. She tossed the phone back down on her desk and turned to her computer.

"I am aware of that; I'm talking about that look on your face. You were so excited I swear you would have mounted your phone if it were possible."

Ren glared at her friend over her shoulder.

A surprised look popped on to Shelby's face. "You met a guy."

Ren sighed and turned her own chair around to look at Shelby.

"Oh you _did_ meet a guy! Yes, girl, give me all the details."

Ren reached for her coffee mug and set back in her chair, letting it recline slightly, and leaned to one side against the armrest.

"Okay, so, I did _kind of_ meet a guy but it was in Indy and he doesn't even live in Indy so I'm not sure that us continuing to talk is even a good idea but I do really like talking to him..."

"Who gave who their number?"

"I gave him my number and he didn't contact me until last night." Shelby made a face at Ren. "Right? But I was texting with him until almost 3 this morning...hence why I called Hutton, 'Satan'…"

"Woof. Long distance things are shitty and tough...does he ever come down here?"

"Okay well slow your roll for a few minutes; this isn't a 'thing', we're texting."

"Where does he actually live?"

"He lives in Iowa."

"Iowa? Like the face of the elf, Iowa?"

"No, Iowa, Japan."

"What the fuck is in Iowa?"

"You're traveling off course, Shelbs..."

"Right, sorry, ok- age, name, hotness level on a scale from 1 to Brad Pitt because you know I'm slightly shallow, profession, and any other important details I don't necessarily need to know about him but you would like to share with me."

"Which Brad Pitt are we talking about? Like Fight Club, Brad Pitt? Or Seven, Brad Pitt? Or Legends of the Fall?"

"Fight Club, obviously; I would settle for Interview With a Vampire."

"He was so whiny in that movie, though."

"We're talking about looks not personality, remember? We can get to that later."

"Right," Ren took a sip of her coffee and licked her lips as she thought. "I'll go with an 8."

"Fuck off; nobody is an 8 on a Fight Club Brad Pitt scale. Not a guy we would meet in day to day life, anyways."

Ren shrugged, "it's kind of relative, really, and an 8 for me might not be an 8 for you. You think Ed Sheeran is hot and I just don't see it. I don't think I ever will. He's kind of like Ron Weasley if Ron Weasley was having an allergic reaction to a chocolate frog."

"That's fair enough. It's very rude but it's a valid point."

Ren shrugged.

"Okay, what else? I need more."

"He's 28 like us, his name is Seth and he's a wrestler."

"A wrestler?"

"Yes."

"Like...the Rock?"

"Yes. Well, no, but yes. We'll go with that for now."

Shelby was quiet for a moment. She crossed her legs and gave Ren a curious look. "How the fuck?"

Ren chuckled and shifted from leaning against the armrest of her chair to sitting up in the chair. "He had a show in Indy so he was up there and we happened to both be in the same bar. He was sitting by himself watching football and you know me...I had to say something because I don't know how to sit still and be quiet and we just hit it off. We ended up talking for a couple of hours about just...things, and watching the football game."

"Did you sleep with him?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" Ren exclaimed.

"Hot guy in a bar in a state that neither of you live in? No strings attached orgasm Mecca, Katherine."

Ren had turned towards her computer and she sent another frown over her shoulder, "I did not."

"Sometimes you disappoint me," Shelby muttered and turned back to her computer.

Ren sipped her coffee and sighed and reached for the small stack of folders to write out the intern evaluations and get them to Jonathan. She didn't want to hear anything else from him that morning and truthfully she was ready to take a break from Shelby's questioning.

"Okay so I guess I can see where you got 8 from…" Shelby stated out of the blue.

Ren turned around and rolled her eyes and scoffed at her friend. "Seriously? You googled him?"

"What did you expect?" Shelby responded.

Ren shook her head and turned her attention back to her work.

"Who are these two guys?"

Ren turned and looked again; glancing at the picture Shelby had enlarged on her screen. "Dean and Roman, they used to be in a faction together but he turned on them and went out on his own. Well, on TV, in the storyline…"

Shelby gave her a blank look and then raised her eyebrows and pushed her lips out, making a face. "Right…"

"Shut up," Ren glared at her. "Leave me alone so I can work before Satan pitchforks my ass. And stop looking at him."

"Those abs, though," Shelby responded, almost in an argumentative tone. Ren looked over her shoulder again and then shook her head in slight disbelief at her friend. "If any of his friends are single send them my way because I'm tired of tinder boys."

An hour or so later, Ren was sitting back in her chair, arms folded, staring at her computer screen. She had a grid of photos in front of her and for the life of her she couldn't get them to blend together in her head so could decide which ones to use on the poster for the new artist's corner the next week and so she could get her idea down on paper and out of her mind and off of her plate.

Her brain just wasn't functioning.

She caught movement in her peripheral vision and watched one of the interns walking by the two windows of her office and then the door.

"Ben!" she yelled, hoping she had managed to stop him.

A few seconds later he had backtracked to stand in her doorway. "Yes?"

"I need more coffee," she replied and held out her mug for him while she kept her eyes on her screen. She heard him sigh before he stepped into the room. "What time did you get here this morning?"

"Um, about 30 minutes ago…"

"When were you supposed to be here?"

"Over an hour ago."

"Then don't huff and/or sigh at me since I didn't tell your professor you don't know how to wake up for alarms. Coffee."

"I'm sorry," he said meekly.

"Just get the coffee."

He nodded and quickly exited the room. She puffed her cheeks out with a sigh and leaned forward, dropping her head into her hands. Her phone buzzed next to her keyboard and the sound made her jump slightly.

 _ **Good morning. I hope you aren't too tired today I'm sorry I kept you awake.**_

Ren smiled as she read the text. So her conversation with Seth was going to at least continue for now.

 _ **I think I just went Devil Wears Prada on one of our interns…but it's NBD…He's a dick anyways…**_ She replied to him.

She returned her phone to its spot beside her keyboard and then cleared her throat, once again focusing on the computer screen. _You can do this, Ren..._

 _ **What did you do?**_

 _ **I made him fetch more coffee for me and I threatened him because he was late.**_

 _ **Bossy :)**_

 _ **I was grumpy :/**_

In his hotel room, still lying in bed, Seth frowned at his phone. He was positive her being grumpy was a direct result of not getting any sleep, and that was a direct result of their texting.

 _ **Is that my fault?**_

 _ **No I'm just having a rough morning with a project. I voluntarily stayed up talking to you. I'm a big girl I make those decisions.**_

 _ **I'm glad you did.**_

He replied and smiled. He was glad that she had stayed up talking to him. Most of their conversation had been him asking her questions based off of what he had seen on her Twitter. The more he learned about her, the more intrigued he got. She was feisty and a smartass but she was sweet and smart and incredibly talented.

 _ **I'm glad I did too. Although for the foreseeable future, if we keep talking, I may have to put you on a curfew…**_

 _ **Oh god I'm a teenager again**_

 _ **At least on weekdays :)**_

 _ **I can live with that. Do you have a busy day today?**_

He made a face and shook his head. Why did he feel so stupid?

 _ **A bit. I have a meeting in a few and another meeting after lunch and I have some stuff to catch up on from being gone yesterday. I have to go to a writer's round tonight and somewhere in there I'll try and get in a run and give my dog some attention.  
This is all very boring info…**_

 _ **It's not boring. It's normal and I like that.**_

 _ **Well what does a WWE star do on a Tuesday morning?**_

 _ **Boring things…I'll get some breakfast, workout, maybe explore a little and show up at the arena at call time.**_

 _ **Do you have another long drive tonight?**_

 _ **No I'll fly home in the morning. Hotel tonight.**_

It took a few minutes for her reply to come back and he chuckled to himself when he read it. _**It**_ _ **does**_ _ **sound boring. Wrestling is lame...**_

 _ **That's why I'm sad in sports bars.**_

Ren was smiling at her phone when Shelby popped into their office, knocking on the door. "Hey, meeting…we have three minutes to be there…"

"Blah," Ren groaned, sticking her tongue out.

She stood up and grabbed her nearby pad folio so she could at least feign an attempt at keeping notes and paying attention and followed Shelby out of the office. She responded to Seth as she walked down the hallway.

 _ **Meeting time…**_

 _ **So you're leaving me to boredom?**_

 _ **I'll be back…**_

 _ **I'll be waiting.**_

She smiled as she took her seat next to Shelby and slipped her phone into one the pockets of her dress.

Shelby leaned over to quietly speak to her. "I totally saw you making goo goo eyes at your phone you little love sick puppy you!"

"Shut up."


	4. Questions

**Hey all! So I'm thinking that I'll try and update this story on a Mon/Thur schedule...or would you guys prefer like Tue/Fri? Just a couple of days in between before something new is posted. Let me know!**

 **As always, thank you for reading! I love seeing all the new names I haven't seen before and all of the old ones that went through the 'Reclaim' journey with me! I love getting your favs/follows and I love your reviews and PMs! Keep em' coming! Feel free to ask about anything!**

 **Happy reading! Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Questions**

The day and afternoon had continued on with intermittent texts between Ren and Seth. She had her meetings and other work things, he was working out, she was working out; they were trading off times on who was busy and who wasn't.

He had just settled down at an empty table in catering a few hours before the Smackdown taping was supposed to start and taken his headphones off when he spotted Dean and Renee entering the area. He had no doubts he was about to get company.

He watched them for a minute and then turned his attention back to his own meal.

They eventually made their way over to him and took the empty seats across from him.

They managed to spend a decent amount of time talking about their plans for their off days until Seth's phone vibrated on the table and Renee's eyes widened a little bit.

"Is that bar girl?" Dean asked.

Seth sighed, "Her name is Katherine."

"Ok."

"Yes."

Renee shook her head at the awkward exchange between the two friends. "You guys need to settle your testosterone levels."

"You guys need to mind your own business," Seth countered.

Renee tilted her head slightly and gave him a sweet look, "we're just curious, Seth. I mean, we all sat there and watched you two in your own little world that night in Indy. Don't be so defensive, ok?"

"You didn't even remember her; you were drunk."

"How are things going with her though?" Dean added.

"It's…fine, I guess," he shrugged. "We talked for awhile last night, we've been texting back and forth today. She's working, she's busy but it's good. I guess."

"You guess?"

"I don't know what kind of answer you want from me," Seth defended with a shrug.

"Did she tell you about her kid yet?" Renee joined in.

Seth almost choked on the sip of water he had just taken, "I'm sorry?"

"Yeah she totally has a kid."

"Wh…what? How do you know this?"

"I looked at her Instagram," Renee shrugged nonchalantly.

Seth cut a glare at Renee and sat back in his chair. He turned his gaze on Dean and Dean just shrugged in return.

Renee had retrieved her phone. She took a few moments to scroll before handing it across the table to him.

"Here."

He scowled at her and begrudgingly took the device from her.

There was definitely a picture of Katherine and a little girl. Judging by the fact they were both in yellow Predators jerseys, he assumed they were at a hockey game. The little girl was sitting in her lap and they were both making goofy faces. It was captioned: **Teaching her the important things like not to take yourself too seriously and that hockey boys are hotter than all other athletes. #GoPreds #MyLife #MyLily #FamilyFirst**

Seth frowned and handed Renee's phone back to her. Renee gave him a questioning look.

"What?" he asked. "That doesn't mean that's _her_ daughter."

"No, it doesn't, but there are more pics of her on there so…I'm just saying. There is a tiny human involved in this whole thing in some way."

"Congratulations, it's a girl," Dean dryly stated before grinning at his friend.

"Stop," Renee swatted at her boyfriend.

"I feel like she would have mentioned to me by now if she had a kid. _Not_ that it matters because it doesn't."

"Nah, I see that look in your eyes, you're already thinking about running," Dean said.

Seth shook his head along with a fierce eye roll. "I just want you to know that friends like you two are the reason that alcoholics exist in this world."

"Wow, ouch!"

"And Renee, you are creepily stalkerish."

"How do you think she snagged me?" Dean shrugged.

Renee swatted at him again. " _Stop_! And Seth, if you think that one of her girlfriends hasn't already googled you then you have a lot to learn. That is how we operate…we research."

"Well I appreciate the interest but stop researching her. I'll find out all the things I need to know about her on my own. It's creepy."

He pushed his chair back and stood up and picked up his now empty plate.

"Okay, well let me know if it's her kid or not, ok? I need answers."

"Good bye," Seth said with a blank face and turned away from the table. He could hear Renee say something to Dean but he couldn't make out clearly what she said. He shook his head as he walked away. He loved them but sometimes being in such a close knit world of work mixed with friendship was a bit too much.

He looked down at his phone as he made his way through the hallways of the arena.

 _ **What are you doing?**_ He responded to Ren's text he had gotten while he was eating.

 _ **On my way home from yoga**_ she replied after a moment.

 _ **Don't text and drive.**_

 _ **Well the interstate is a parking lot right now so if I'm not moving is it really considered driving? Loophole.**_

He chuckled to himself. _**I have a question.**_

 _ **Shoot. I apparently have all the time in the world right now…**_ She followed up her response with a picture of the cars in front of her, gridlocked on the interstate.

 _ **Fuck that sucks. You said earlier you were going to give me a curfew.**_

 _ **I did.**_

 _ **What time is my curfew?**_

 _ **Midnight.**_

 _ **Well I know you have your writer's thing tonight but do you think you'll be home before you turn back into a pumpkin?**_

 _ **I should.**_

 _ **Can I call you after my show?**_

 _ **This has been more than 'a' question…but yes you can :)**_

 _ **Sounds good. Have a good night and I'll talk to you later then. Be careful out there on the wild roads...**_

Ren looked down at her phone and read the message. Well that was short and sweet. She didn't mind it though. She smiled and dropped the phone back into the cup holder where she usually kept it nestled and she reached to turn up her music. She was excited to talk to him later.

Seth frowned to himself. He was sitting on his bed in his hotel room and he had just tried to call Ren. The call had gone straight to voicemail.

He looked at his phone as if it was his phone's fault that she hadn't answered and tossed it aside on his bed, resigning himself to just taking a shower and not thinking about it. Maybe she would call back, maybe she had asshole buttoned him; there were a handful of reasons and any of them could be the right reason.

He was slightly irritated, but he was going to try and let it go.

He crossed over to the bed to check his phone once he was out of the shower and he had a text from her.

 _ **So sorry! So so sorry! My phone died and we cabbed it so I didn't have a charger and I just got home and it's charging and I'm here now. If you still want to call...**_

He sat down on his bed and propped himself against the headboard and called her again.

She picked up after a couple rings with a cheerful, "hi!"

"I'm trying to decide if I actually buy your story or if you just gave me the asshole button and then felt bad for it..." He said to her greeting.

"Do you think I would do something like that?"

"I haven't made up my mind about that yet."

"If I intended to asshole button you then I would have just never given you my number to begin with."

"Fair enough."

"Although it took you long enough to use it."

He chuckled, "hey, look, I spent all that time trying to decipher if you _really_ wanted me to use it or if you were just being friendly. I mean, you gave me your business card."

"I told you that writing my number on a bar napkin isn't classy enough."

"Well, I used it."

"You did."

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I am sitting on my kitchen counter with my phone plugged in next to my toaster, eating cheese covered tater tots, and waiting for my dog to scratch on the door so I can let him in."

"Sounds like you're living the dream."

"I'm not mad about it. My feet hurt but I'll deal."

"Were you wearing ridiculous high heels tonight?"

"Actually, no, I was wearing cowboy boots- don't laugh. I was just on my feet the whole night."

"What is a writer's round anyways?"

"Um, it's a little show where a couple of songwriters get together and sit in a circle, or in the round if you want to be fancy, and tell stories about their songs and the artists they've worked with and play some of their songs. It's kind of like Storyteller's that used to be on VH1 except most writers can't carry a tune in a bucket."

"Hence why they write?"

"Hence why they write," she repeated with a smile.

"Were you working or pleasuring?"

"Working; I was on picture duty."

"When I hear 'writer's round' I just picture our writers sitting around in a circle trying to decide our scripts for the night and yelling at each other. I feel like your version is more enjoyable."

"You get scripts?"

"Yeah, mostly everything is planned out and scripted. Some of us get a little more free reign than others but there's at least a skeleton for everything. We don't just go out there and fly by the seat of our pants."

"I think I'm a little disappointed by that," she replied with a teasing tone. "Oh, hold on! I hear dog scratches..."

He could hear muffled noises as she moved around her kitchen and he heard the door open along with a small bark. He couldn't make out what she was saying but it made him smile a little bit. There was a rustling sound that came across the receiver and then she spoke again, "I'm back."

"What kind of dog do you have?"

"He is a Pomeranian and Border collie mix...or so said the rescue I got him from. He's black and white and kind of fluffy but not full pom fluffy and he's medium-ish sized."

"How old is he?"

"A little over one; his name is Cash."

"After Johnny Cash?"

"Smart boy. We have a cat, too, he's kind of moody but he's sweet when he wants to be."

"He sounds like me."

"He kind of just showed up on our porch one day and somehow ended up inside as our pet."

"What's his name?"

"Hagrid," she replied with a smile, even though nobody was around to witness it other than her dog.

Seth chuckled, "Harry Potter."

"I'm not ashamed."

"You shouldn't be. I have a 'Mr. Granger' shirt that I wear, so...if anyone should feel shame it should be me."

"She's totally out of your league, Rollins..."

"Damn, ouch."

"I mean, you're cute but I just don't think she would go for you."

"You know I don't know if I should be offended by that or slightly flattered since you said I was cute."

Ren laughed, "Well if I'm allowed a vote I would go with flattered."

"Thank you then, I'm flattered."

"You're most welcome."

Ren could hear his laugh and had a flash in her mind of him at the bar the night in Indy. She had said something ridiculous, she couldn't remember at the moment, but it had made him laugh and shake his head at her. He had dipped his head and adjusted his beanie and she remembered how adorable his smile was.

She raised her eyebrows and shook her head at herself. _Settle down, Katherine._

 _"_ How was _your_ show?"

"It was good," he replied.

"That's it? 'It was good'? I don't even get to know what happened."

"You can watch it on Friday."

Ren scoffed at his statement. "I feel like I'm getting jipped in this whole deal right now."

"Well I don't want to spoil it for you. You won't watch me if you have spoilers."

"Can't I just go on the internet and get spoilers? Wasn't there a live audience there? Besides, I have plans on Friday."

"Hot date?"

"No," she bit her lip. "I have a family dinner thing. It's my parent's anniversary."

"I guess I can excuse you under those circumstances."

"Oh, that's very kind of you."

There was a silence that settled over them and Ren took the opportunity to slip her boots off. She closed her eyes in relief at the feeling of her feet being free of the shoes she had been wearing all night.

"Um, so…I have to confess something. I had a reason I asked about calling tonight. Well apart from just wanting to actually talk to you again, you're very entertaining."

Seth's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Go on…" she said.

"I wanted to ask you something but I'm not entirely sure how to ask it without sounding like a complete dick."

"That isn't a promising way to lead into something, you know?"

"It's honest," he offered.

"Fair enough, what's the question? If you sound like a dick I'll give you a free pass for the honesty. Unless you're about to ask for nudes and then we're going to have a whole different set of problems…"

"No, that's not…do you think that's what this is about?"

"No," she said softly, "just a…habit…the dating pool is a bit shallow out there…"

She was wincing to herself, sitting there in the dim light in her kitchen. And he had been the one worried about sounding dick?

"I'm sorry," she spoke before he was able to respond to her, "I'm the one that sounds like a dick now and I apologize. I shouldn't generalize and lump you in with typical guys."

"That's not what I'm after," he responded.

"Well…I just made it easy for you to ask your question because it sure as hell can't get worse than that, so…have at it."

"Do you have a kid?"

"What?" she asked. She had heard him but she still had to ask.

He cleared his throat slightly, "on your Instagram…there's a pictu- well there are a couple…I just, I was going to be a little offended if that was something you just didn't feel like trusting me with…"

"Lily?" She exclaimed and laughed. "No, no, no, that's my niece. She's…ah she's the love of my life. Not my kid, though. My brother has full custody of her and her mother isn't around as much as she should be so I try to do what I can…"

"Oh," he responded.

"Did you Instagram stalk me?" She exclaimed.

"I was informed that you and your girlfriends probably have googled me by now," he countered.

"I have not. My coworker has but I haven't."

"Oh?"

"She wanted to know what you looked like."

"You're talking about me?"

"You didn't answer _my_ question."

"Renee looked you up and then I took a gander."

"You're talking about me?"

"She was at the bar…"

"The blonde?"

"That's the one. She's dating Dean and we all end up spending a lot of time together. She's a little…high strung, I guess? I don't know she just has a lot of energy and she's nosey and she also decided she wants to be your friend."

"This is all moving a little fast," Ren teased him. "I mean I don't even know if we're friends…I'm not sure I'm ready for all of this."

"Well I'm being googled," he countered.

"For the record, I have chosen not to do that because I would prefer to learn about you on my own. I know you have fans and you're kind of a celebrity, public figure and I just…I want to form my own opinions on you before I dive into that."

"What kind of opinions do you have so far?"

"Ah," she laughed, "are you fishing?"

"Well I have five minutes until my curfew kicks in so yeah, maybe…can't a guy get sent off to bed with a good thought? Oh that didn't come out right…."

"Well I just hope this isn't our last conversation," she replied. "I'll give you that."

"I'll take it, and now I have to say goodnight. You have to work in the morning."

"I do," she said meekly. She was disappointed. "I hope you have a good rest of your night."

Ren's attention flipped to the large doorway to the kitchen from the hallway and living room as her roommate appeared. Seth was telling her good night and she focused on him for another moment before they hung up.

Amber was giving her a curious look, hands on her hips. "Who was that?"

Ren slid off of the counter and turned to unplug her charger from the wall. "That was Seth…"

"Ren! He called?"

"Yeah, well he text me last night and then he asked to call tonight."

"And you just didn't think to mention this to me all damn day? So much for BFFS…"

"I know, I know," Ren said, pouting, "I know, I'm a bad friend. I have just been so swamped today, and tired, and busy and I just…it slipped my mind. It's been very off and on and it's just been about our days, about work. I promise you tomorrow we can get lunch and I'll tell you all about it."

"What is he like? Do you like him?"

"He's sweet and he's funny and he seems like he genuinely wants to get to know me, and he's hot as hell; that's all I can give you right now," she shrugged.

Amber nodded, "fair enough. Go to bed, you look like death."

"You're so sweet, thank you. Love you."

"Love you, too."

Ren patted her leg for Cash, who had been lying under the kitchen table since she let him in and she retreated down the hallway to her room.

She started the process of changing from the clothes she had worn out that night and slipped on a t shirt and some Capri length yoga pants. She was too tired to worry about taking her makeup off. She would deal with the consequences of that another day.

She climbed into bed, Cash settling next to her feet, and check to make sure her alarm was set when she realized she had gotten a text message.

 _ **Not a fan of this curfew business**_

 _ **Seeing as how you aren't adhering to it that's a little obvious.**_

 _ **I'm bad at following rules & directions.**_  
 _ **I also really like hearing your voice. Your accent is cute.**_

Ren sighed quietly to herself when she read his back to back texts and she couldn't help but smile. _Is he flirting with me?_ She questioned herself while she stared at her screen _._ She didn't want to have the butterfly feeling or be happy about how this was playing out. She knew that getting involved with him was more than likely dangerous territory. She couldn't help it, though.

 _ **Charm isn't going to get the curfew lifted. It won't kill you to wait until Friday...**_

 _ **It might.**_  
 _ **Goodnight :) Sleep well.**_


	5. So How Does This Work?

**Ok ok so I know yesterday I said I was going to update like twice a week...but I'm feeling a bit froggy today (I think I'm excited about getting a new tattoo tonight...) and I've decided I would gift you guys with a "Happy Friday the 13th" chapter! So I hope you enjoy and I hope you all stay safe and have all the luck in the world tonight!**

 **Thank you for the follows/favorites/reviews. I love seeing them and I love hearing from you guys! Let me know what you think!**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: So How Does This Work?  
**

"Okay so how does this work?" Ren asked and leaned against the arm of the oversized chair in the living room. She gave a bright, questioning look to Amber. Ren had just gotten home from spending a couple hours in her office and dropping into the gym, but it was Sunday night and the same night as Hell In A Cell and she had made sure she was going to be home in time to actually watch the show.

"What do you mean?"

"Isn't this like 4 hours long? Are we drinking? Are we paying for this? I have a lot of questions…"

Amber cracked a smile at her friend. "It's three hours, unless we watch the pre show and yes, there will be drinking if you want to drink. We have the network so we do pay for it but not $60."

"Oh."

"I would think that _someone_ would have prepared you for your first pay per view."

Ren shrugged, "I mean…we don't just talk about WWE all day long. We don't really talk about it all that much, really. He won't even give me spoilers because he says that's the only way he can get me to watch…but he has kind of prepared me. I know it's in a steel cage."

"I can't deal with this," Tyler entered the room. He had a bottle of Bud Light in his hand and he stopped a few steps into the doorway and looked at Katherine. "You're pretty much dating _the_ superstar of the WWE and you're clueless about Hell In A Cell…"

"No, we aren't dating," Ren responded, "and I'm not clueless I was just asking how _we_ , the people in this room, were going to do this. You know I usually go do something else when you guys watch pay per views."

"You are kind of dating," Amber added.

"No, we are not. He lives in Iowa and he's never actually at home, I live in Tennessee; it's not even a plausible idea."

"So you've thought this out?" Tyler smiled.

"Can you two just let me enjoy this?" Ren exclaimed. "Can I have one thing?"

"You know it's kind of perfect for you, honestly, the whole not being in the same place thing? You would maybe, actually stick around in this one," Tyler commented and shrugged.

Ren scoffed, "what does that mean, exactly?"

Amber rolled her eyes from her spot on the couch and she gave Tyler a stern glare. "Tyler, can you not?"

"No, I want to hear this," Ren said, "do go on, sir."

He crossed the room to sit on the couch with Amber as he talked. "All I'm saying is, the last few years, you've had a tendency to cut and run whenever you and a guy started to get kind of serious. Don't say you haven't because you have!"

Ren made a face and folded her arms across her chest.

"Maybe being long distance would help. Maybe that commitment wouldn't be as scary for you. You would have hundreds of miles of space…"

"It isn't scary for me."

"It's just an observation," Tyler held up his hands in a sign of peace and propped his feet up on the coffee table.

Ren and Amber exchanged a silent look.

"Well we aren't dating anyways so all of this doesn't even matter."

A silence settled over them as Tyler flipped the TV input over to the PlayStation and got the WWE Network running.

"Do I have time to shower?" Ren asked after a few minutes.

"Yeah, the pre show will be on until 7," Amber smiled. Ren returned her friend's smile before retreating down the hall to her room **.**

She was slightly grumpy when she got out of the shower. She had managed to let her mind seize Tyler's comment about her fear of committing to anyone and obsess over it the whole time. Even the comfort and warmth of the water and steam hadn't managed to settle her down. It was annoying and she was battling with herself on whether or not she even felt like it was true.

 _Am I a runner?_ She thought to herself. She frowned while she dried off and slipped into sweatpants and faded CMT awards staff shirt. If she was going to be honest with herself in her head, she wouldn't consider herself a runner, she was just hard to satisfy. Truthfully over the last few years she hadn't been in any seriously long term relationships; three or four months at most, but it wasn't because she didn't want it, she just couldn't seem to be happy with someone. She didn't want to settle and she just hadn't been able to find someone that made her feel like she was settling for the sake of being in a relationship.

"But we aren't dating so why are you stressing about this?" She spoke to herself in the mirror as she brushed her hair out and loosely braided it and let it fall over her shoulder.

She did like Seth, though. That much she would own up to. She had started to look forward to his texts and his phone calls. It had been a little over three weeks since they had met but she couldn't deny her interest or her attraction to him. Up until then, she had done her best to keep the thoughts of 'how' it could actually work out of her head. _Thanks, Tyler..._

She grabbed her phone from her night stand where it had been charging and started back towards the living room and her waiting take out she had brought home with her. She had a text from Seth.

 _ **So are you really going to watch?**_

 _ **Yes. With wine and nachos that I grabbed on my way home. I told you I would watch. I stick to my word.**_

 _ **Don't drink too much wine or you won't even remember my match...**_

 _ **Maybe that's my plan?**_

 _ **Why wouldn't you want to remember it?**_

 _ **Two words: steel cage. I'm not a total noob to all of this. I know what can happen.**_

She had made her way into the kitchen and set about reheating her nachos while she waited for his reply. Tyler called to her from the living room and asked her to bring another beer for him whenever she joined. She rolled her eyes.

 _ **Katherine Bolton are you worried about me?**_

She blushed slightly when she read his words.

 _ **No.  
Be careful anyways, though.**_

 _ **I'm always careful. Just enjoy the show. Can I have a curfew lift for the night so I can talk to you after?**_

 _ **Since it's a special occasion...I suppose I can allow that...**_

He responded simply be sending a smiley face emoji and she smiled as she carried her plate and Tyler's beer into the living room.

It was time to see what all of this was all about.

"How are you not in total agony right now?" Ren exclaimed. She was talking to Seth and pacing her room. Her dog was pacing with her and she was trying not to laugh when he would start to get tangled up in her legs when they crossed paths.

"I mean...it doesn't really hurt," he answered flatly. "I'll be sore in the morning, it'll take me a little longer to drag myself out of bed, but...we're kind of like stunt people. I know how to take that fall without seriously hurting myself. It wasn't that bad."

"Seth, you fell like 200 feet off a fucking cage onto a table and you seriously want me to believe it doesn't hurt? At all? You're full of shit."

She could hear him chuckling at her bewildered reply to him. "It wasn't 200 feet, darlin…."

"Since when do you say 'darlin'?"

"I don't know; I probably picked it up from you."

"Ew, I hope I don't pick up stuff from you. I'm going to start saying things weird now."

"I don't say things weird."

"Say 'roof' for me."

"No."

"Come on…"

"No, I'm not going to let you make fun of how I speak," he argued.

"Say it once."

"No. You don't want to fight this battle with me Katherine Ray, you're a southerner, you want to pick on how I say things then I'll starting dropping 'yonder' and 'yeller' and 'ya'll' on you."

"I do _not_ say yeller; I never have in my entire life. That's absurd. Besides you like my accent so shut up…"

"What were we talking about before you attacked me?"

"The pay per view and how I feel like you're just trying to be some macho tough guy about leaping off a steel cage so you can impress me and that's fine...but remember that when you want some sympathy from someone because you're in pain because you won't get it from me."

"That's fair enough, I guess. Did you at least enjoy the show?"

"For the most part, yeah, I did. I mean...I watched RAW the last two weeks but I see how the pay per views are a bigger deal. They have less cheesy soap opera drama, too, which I like."

"Ouch; you're insulting my livelihood, you know?"

"I like less conversation and more action."

"Okay, Elvis."

"I didn't like the women's match. That was stupid. All of that is actually kind of offensive but I can save that for another day."

"Oh that wouldn't be the first time I've heard that," he had a bit of laughter in his voice. "I'll patch you through to the people in charge and let you air your grievances with them, how is that?"

"Don't patronize me."

"What are you doing this week?" He asked, abruptly changing the subject.

"Working, slaving my life away in an office...the usual. I have a photo shoot this week, though."

"For what?"

"I'm going to be in a magazine."

"Well look at you. What kind of magazine? Will I be able to get it?"

"Um, I don't know," she replied. She reached out to scratch Cash's head when he jumped up on her bed and then she sat next to him. "It's called Nashville Lifestyles and it's kind of a local thing. They're doing a special issue about women in the music industry so it's singers, songwriters, studio musicians, record label execs, producers, yada yada and radio people. Shelby and me and one of the DJs from the rock station got asked to do it."

"That's bad ass, Ren."

She gave him a nervous laugh and shook her head, "no, I think they just couldn't get anybody else to do it."

"Don't do that; you got asked to do it for a reason. You're insanely talented with a camera and Photoshop and I've heard you on your show and you're great. You're funny and you're confident and you're smart as hell and your accent comes off really adorably over the air..."

Ren hosted the new artist's corner on Thursday mornings. It was live from the studios and it mostly consisted of her asking the featured artist a handful of questions in between them singing songs off of whatever album they were promoting. It was an hour long show and it was the only time she was on the air or in front of a camera. She had told Seth about it and he had listened to her earlier that week on his way to work out.

"Thank you."

"Will you send me a copy of the magazine when it comes out?"

"Yeah, I can do that."

"When is that?"

"Wednesday afternoon, right after lunch; Thursday I have to cover a show in the studio and Friday I promised Lilly that I would come see her Halloween costume before I did anything else. I get to see the Foo Fighters that night."

"So you have Halloween plans?"

"Yeah, I don't know if you've watched it any or not but they have this show on HBO right now called Sonic Highways and it's pretty much just them traveling to these big musical cities and diving into the scene and the history of it. They did one in Nashville and it airs on Friday so they're doing a concert at the Ryman after it airs. I made my friend that works there hold tickets for me."

"You have all the connections."

"That's a product of my career."

"I'll have to check it out, the show."

"You should. The first episode was in Chicago..."

"I still wonder if we crossed paths in Chicago ever."

"We could have but I still think we probably didn't. I was at bars listening to country music and you were head banging to some screamo death song," she teased him.

"You have to give it a chance."

"Same."

One of the first things he had asked her about when they had talked to the night of RAW when he was in the car with Roman, Dean and Renee was what her connections to Columbia and Chicago were. She had graduated from the University of South Carolina and spent a few years in Chicago working and pursuing her masters before she moved back to Nashville.

"I've told you before that I don't mind some country music."

"You've been very inquisitive tonight," she commented, trying to take their conversation back to his questions about what was on her plate that week.

"You always have something going on and it..." He paused, not sure of what word he was looking for.

"It what?" She asked.

"I don't know it just kind of intrigues me I guess. You're at a show, or a press conference, or a game, or some other event and it's always something different. I like to hear about it. You're like a little socialite."

"You always have things going on, too."

"No, I wrestle and I work out and I play video games."

"But you're always traveling."

"That's different than always having something going on."

"Well maybe you should explore the cities a little more."

"Maybe," he replied. Ren could hear a little twinge of change in his voice. She didn't know what it was but she could hear it. His mood had shifted and she wasn't sure why. "I, um...I also asked because I was thinking about running an idea by you about...about me maybe dropping into Nashville for a couple days."

"Oh!" Ren replied. "Oh...when?"

"This week but you have a full schedule ahead of you."

She was quiet. Her head was spinning. The last thing she had expected was for him to bring up anything about coming to Nashville to visit, let alone two days from then. She had a hundred thoughts processing through her brain but the main one was an excited thought of 'he wants to come see you!'

"I just...I'd like to actually spend time in the same place as you again and preferably not at a bar. I know it's very last minute, though, but I had to take a chance."

"What about...after this week?"

"I'm going to Europe," he answered. She could hear a heavy sigh come from his side of the line. "We have like a 10 day trip over there to do some live shows and TV; we leave the 5th."

"Shit, yeah, the CMA Awards are next week, too. When do you come back?"

"I think the 13th."

"You would need to recover from being overseas, though, and then it's Thanksgiving..." She frowned, half speaking to him and half just thinking out loud. "That's also not ten days."

"I'm a wrestler not a mathematician."

She laughed at his slightly offended but teasing response.

"I think we're just destined to only be phone friends."

"Ew, that makes it sound like I'm some hotline girl or something," she laughed.

"Hey a man has needs."

"When is your next pay per view?"

"End of November, right after Thanksgiving I think."

"Do you know where it is?"

" St. Louis, I think."

"Well St. Louis is an easy hour flight from here..."

"Are you telling me you want to come to my next pay per view?"

"Yes, I am. If the end of November rolls around and you think that you would still like to spend time with me in the same place, preferably not at a bar, then I would like to come to your next pay per view. We can hang out, and I can see you do your thing and I've never been to a wrestling pay per view before...and they have pretty decent barbecue in the STL."

"I don't think I'll be changing my mind before then," he responded.

Ren could feel herself blush slightly at his confession.

"Can I come to RAW, too?"

"We have to drive there."

"I am a seasoned road tripper. I work in the music business."

"Yeah we'll I'm not tour bus level yet so we'll be in a rental."

"Well if I'm going to sign on for this I want the whole experience; pay per view, RAW, Smackdown, cheap ass truck stop coffee- I'm going all in. If you're okay with that- I kind of just attached myself to your career."

"I'm okay with it."

"I'll request the time off work, then."

"I'll request your passes."

Ren yawned, bringing on a small silence between the two of them. A second yawn quickly followed the first one and she heard Seth chuckle again.

"You should go to sleep. You're a busy bee this week, you need your rest."

"I do have a busy week," she sighed, "story of my life."

"Don't try and sound like you don't love every minute of it. You eat it up."

"Hmm, you talk to a guy for two weeks and he thinks he knows you..." She dryly replied.

"I'm trying to get to know you."

"Same," she responded.

"Go sleep now," he inhaled deeply.

"Okay. I hope you aren't too sore in the morning. I know I said I wasn't going to give you any sympathy so that's all you're getting."

He chuckled, "I'll take it. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," she replied.

She fell back on the bed as they both ended the call. She felt like a high school girl that had just gotten asked out by the hot guy in school. She was giddy. Somehow they had just decided she was going to St. Louis to his next pay per view, and traveling with him, and she was excited. Four weeks; that was a piece of cake to get through.


	6. Nervous

**Happy Monday and happy reading! Hope you all enjoy!**

 **Thank you for the favorites and reviews and PMs! You guys kind of rock my world!**

 ***** _Italics represent a 'flashback'_**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Nervous**

A few weeks later, Ren was settled in her seat on her flight leaving for St. Louis. It had been a hectic morning between traffic and the early wake up and the oceans of post Thanksgiving travelers that were also trying to catch their flights and travel to their next destination. She had made it through security with little trouble aside from a long line and since she had an hour to kill, she opted for a Bloody Mary over a coffee.

A little vodka courage wasn't going to hurt her.

She was nervous.

She was sweaty palms and swirling with butterflies in her stomach nervous.

The vodka had helped, though. She was fairly certain that a caffeine bolt would have only made things worse.

She had sent the unofficially required texts to a few people to let them know she was boarded and safe; namely Amber, Shelby and Seth and settled in, mentally noting that she would be privy to in flight wifi.

Her eyes flicked to the front of the cabin and she took note of the start of the announcement explaining how to buckle the safety belts, amongst other instructions. She rolled her eyes; she had heard this speech a million times.

Her phone vibrated in her hand and she glanced down.

 _ **I'll be waiting.**_

She smiled at the short message from Seth. He had promised her several times he would be at the airport to pick her up when she landed.

She chuckled to herself, remembering how many times they had gone in a circle over who was paying for her plane ticket. She had finally just bought it herself, both of them, and told him he would just have to deal with it.

She put her ear buds in, pulled up her Spotify and settled into her seats for the short flight, letting her mind drift while she gazed out the window.

 _Katherine was sitting in the break room in the office, perched on the counter next to the sink, slowly sipping on a freshly poured cup of coffee and looking over the sports section of the newspaper. She scoffed at the current headline about the Predators that graced the front page of that section and rolled her eyes before taking another sip of her drink._

 _"Ah, she doth protest," a male voice interrupted her scoffing and reading. She raised her eyes towards the door to see Jonathan walk into the room and cross over to the sink to place his coffee mug in it._

 _"I'm not sure where the Tennessean finds some of their so-called sports journalist but they're trash," she grumbled._

 _"How about you read your trash from a chair and not the counter that people prepare food on?"_ _he partially questioned and partially suggested to her._

 _"I like sitting up here. It makes me feel big and tall and important."_

 _"Down, Ren," he said sternly and coolly._

 _She scoffed and rolled her eyes again and set her drink and paper to the side to slide off of the counter while she mumbled something about not being a dog. She leaned her back against it, crossing her legs and returned her attention back to the paper and her drink._

 _"You know you're probably the only person that still actually reads the printed paper. I didn't even know we got a copy delivered here."_

 _"We don't this is my copy from home. Didn't you get a journalism degree?" She raised her eyebrows and looked up at him again._

 _"Broadcast journalism; hence why I'm in radio. Radio will never go away."_

 _"Podcasts and YouTube are going to put it out of business eventually, and Spotify. I barely even listen to the radio in my own car. Keep thinking that if it makes you feel better, though."_

 _"One of these days you'll stop being petulant and snarky with me."_

 _"I doubt it. It's kind of like working with my brother. I'm always going to fight you."_

 _"Just continue to not do it when our higher ups are around and I guess I can keep letting it sl-"_

 _"Katherine!"_

 _Jonathan's comment was interrupted by a very bubbly Shelby bounding into the break room with a smile on her face._ _Jonathan_ _and Ren exchanged looks before giving her their full attention._

 _"Ma'am?"_ _Ren responded._

 _"Sorry, Hutton, I_ _didn't...realize_ _you were in here and you two were having a conversation. I just kind of bounded and exclaimed before I looked."_

 _"What did you need?" He questioned._

 _"Um, well Katherine has a_ _delivery...so_ _I came to get her."_

 _Ren gave Shelby a confused look and pushed off of the counter, standing up straight. "I have a delivery?"_

 _Shelby grinned, "Yes."_

 _The fuck did I have delivered?_ _She thought to herself._ _Did I drunk shop and forget to change my work address to my home address again?_

 _She furrowed her eyebrows and tucked the paper under her arm, still clutching her coffee mug, and started towards the door._ _Shelby walked in front of her and_ _Jonathan_ _was close on her heels._

" _And who invited you to this party?"_ _Ren asked him._

" _My offices."_

 _She rolled her eyes as she crossed the threshold into her office and she let out an audible breath of air, almost a gasp, at the sight of the bouquet of dark purple dahlias and dark calla lilies that was sitting on her desk. It was very dark and gothic, but very fall like, and it was absolutely stunning._

 _Ren took the few steps to her desk and plucked the card from the holder situated among the flowers._

" _What poor fool are you stringing along now?" Jonathan commented from the doorway._

 _Ren shot him a look and his stance of leaning against the door frame, hands buried in the pockets of his suit and the smirk on his face irritated her._

 _She opened up the small envelope and removed the card, not bothering to answer him._

 _Good luck at your photo shoot and congrats on being a bad ass. Looking forward to seeing you in a few weeks._ _  
_ _Rollins_

 _Ren read the card, twice, and then cleared her throat and looked up at_ _Jonathan_ _._ _"The magazine sent them. I'm not stringing along any fool."_

" _Right...try and get some work done, please."_

" _We will," Shelby piped up with a smile._

 _He gave them both another look before he turned on his heels to stride down the hallway towards his own office._

 _Katherine sat in her chair and looked at the bouquet, quietly fingering the petals._

" _Those aren't from the magazine or I would have gotten some…"_

" _Shit, I didn't think of that," Ren mumbled. She sighed heavily and looked at Shelby and passed the note to her as she spoke. "Seth sent them."_

" _Wrestler, Seth?" Shelby asked and looked over the note. "Oh, Ren, he's fucking smitten."_

" _So am I."_

" _From texting and talking on the phone? Wait…phone sex?"_

" _Why is it always about sex with you?"_

" _I'm on a dry spell," she waved her hand in dismissal; "I can't help it. So no phone sex, just…texts and calls?"_

" _Yeah," Ren shrugged._ _"I mean, I don't know, is it really much different getting to know each other that way than sitting across from someone at dinner and talking?"_

" _Yes, you're both physically in the same place."_

" _We've FaceTimed, that's close, enough…"_

" _Well, all I know is if he's sending flowers…I need to find me one…"_

 _Ren rolled her eyes. She produced her phone to take a picture of the bouquet. If he was going to grace her with them, she was going to show them off. She sent him a text quickly- just a series of shocked smiley face emojis- and then switched to Instagram._ _She added a few edits to the picture of the flowers, making sure to blur out the mess that was her desk as well as she could and added a caption:_ _ **Always a nice surprise to start off a work day... #FlowersForTheWin**_

" _What did he mean he looked forward to seeing you in a few weeks?" Shelby asked, interrupting Ren's motions._

" _Yeah, I hadn't gotten around to mentioning that to you but the other night he asked about coming to Nashville."_

" _So he's coming down here? When?"_

" _No, I'm going to St. Louis."_

" _Explain."_

 _Ren sat back in her chair and looked at Shelby. "He wanted to come this week and as excited as I was to realize 'hey, he wants to travel down here to see you and spend time with you', I have an insanely busy week this week, and…I wouldn't want him to come here and I just end up being stretched in 50 different directions and not even get to spend time with him. Next week he's going to Europe though for a week, and then it's Thanksgiving…so I'm going to St. Louis to his pay per view the weekend after Thanksgiving. I'll also be gone Monday and Tuesday for his TV tapings…"_

" _By yourself?"_

" _I don't need an adult or a chaperone to travel with me."_

" _To travel with you and him."_

" _He isn't a serial killer, Shelbs."_

" _No but I don't care how long you've been having nightly chats with him he's still kind of a stranger. You're going to St. Louis to travel around for a couple days with a strange man." Ren was giving Shelby a silent, blank look. "What if he's secretly married? What if you're just the girl that entertains him when he's on the road and lonely? What if you go hang out with him and realize you hate each other? What if the sex is bad?"_

" _Did you see anything about a wife when you googled him?" Ren countered._

" _No."_

" _And we don't just talk at night when he's on the road; it's all day and it's pretty much every day. His brother even fucking said hi to me the other day." Ren sat up in her chair and reached for her phone, shaking her head. "You are the last person I expected to come back at me with 'stranger danger' and 'what if he's married'. The whole point of me going to STL and spending a few days with him is to figure out what the hell this is. Maybe I am the girl that just entertains him when he's lonely, maybe he'll be tired of me before then, maybe I'll be tired of him, maybe we'll end up really hating each other, there are a shit ton of 'maybe' and 'what if' scenarios I can go through but I won't have any answers until I actually go. So I am."_

" _Okay but you didn't answer the most important of my 'what if' scenarios…" Shelby gave her friend a playful smile._

" _Who says I'll be having sex with him?" Ren countered. She reached for her coffee mug to take a sip, feeling an urge for the hot drink and the boost of caffeine. "Besides have you looked at him? There's no way he's bad in bed…"_

" _The hot ones are usually the worse," Shelby shrugged, "or maybe I just have bad luck."_

 _Ren laughed at her friend's dejected look and turned back to her computer to try and get some work knocked out before both of them had to leave._

Seth was sitting in the baggage claim area of the Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, leg bouncing involuntarily as he waited for Katherine's flight to land.

To say he was calm and patient would be a vast overstatement.

He was actually kind of befuddled. He had gotten up earlier than usual so he could get his work out in and somewhere in the middle of dead lifts and his music he had started obsessing over the fact that Ren would actually be there, in St. Louis with him, in a couple of hours and he wasn't entirely sure what to do. He had spent three or four hours in a bar with her and everything after that had been basically over the phone.

Did he hug her when he saw her? How the hell was he supposed to greet her? What if they peaked on the phone and everything was awkward between them? Why did his brain wait until just then to start having this worry and anxiety? Was she sitting on her plane thinking the same thing?

He was frustrated with himself because he usually didn't act like this but the whole almost two months since he had met Ren hadn't really been 'usual'.

He looked down at his phone and realized that he had a text from her. _**We're on the ground. Slow ass people unloading from this plane, though. I'm popping for First Class next time…  
Do you remember what I look like? Are you going to recognize me?**_

 _ **That's a dumb question of course I am. Are you going to recognize me?**_

 _ **It'll be tough since you'll actually have a shirt on but I think the bleached blonde skunk stripe will light the way for me…**_

He rolled his eyes and shook his head and laughed lightly. The quick text exchange had been enough to settle some of his anxiety.

This was going to be fine.

He spotted her before she spotted him and he was mentally happy for it because it gave him a second to take her in. She had her ear buds in and her dark hair was down and hanging around her shoulders. She had on grey skinny jeans and a dark purple v-neck shirt with a pocket on it and black converse.

The was a little spark that shot through him at the realization of just how beautiful she was and then her eyes met his and she perked up and smiled brightly at him.

Her steps picked up as she pulled her ear buds out, and before he knew it she was in front of him and she was excitedly hugging him.

Well that answered that question; she went ahead and hugged him.

He wrapped his arms around her, not upset about the contact at all, and then she was stepping away from him and looking him up and down.

"So you are actually here waiting on me," she said, still smiling.

"Did you think I wouldn't be?"

"There was plenty of time between when we took off and me getting here that you could have decided to stand me up," she shrugged.

"I wouldn't do that…"

She reached up to the bill of the Cardinals hat he was wearing and flicked it, "number one, ew; and number two, how am I supposed to recognize your blonde stripe when it's covered?"

"Number one, you're already aware that I'm a Cardinals fan and number two, I'm trying to _not_ be recognized."

"Are you _that_ famous?" she smiled.

"No but we do have a pay per view here tonight and the airport is a popular spot to stalk us…"

"Well you probably shouldn't wear a jacket with a WWE logo on it if you don't want someone to recognize you," she teased him.

He glanced down briefly at the black jacket he had hastily grabbed out of his bag before he left the gym and realized he had indeed grabbed his WWE performance center jacket.

"Yeah, you're right…I didn't pay attention to that…" he mumbled. "Fuck."

"All that brawn but short on the brains…" she shook her head.

"You really want to just turn around and get back on a plane and go straight back to Tennessee, don't you?" he replied dryly, giving her a quick glare. "You're extra this morning."

"I'm sorry," she laughed, "I'm blaming the vodka I had at BNA…"

"Already hitting the bottle?"

She shrugged, "I was nervous."

He smirked slightly at her open confession and nodded.

"But anyways…do you have an agenda for us today or what?"

On some unspoken agreement they both moved and started walking towards one of the baggage claim carousels to wait for her bag.

"Shit, I'm supposed to entertain you?" he teased her.

"I mean, I'm pretty capable of entertaining myself…I make friends easily, I don't know if you noticed that."

"Oh yeah, you like to harass strangers in bars."

"I just figured since you invited me out here you'd have _some_ kind of plan in place…"

"Technically- you invited yourself," he countered.

"Valid point."

He chuckled, "well we have to go back to the hotel first; I need to shower. I didn't have time when I left the gym or you would've actually thought I stood you up because I wouldn't have been here."

"You let me hug you and you haven't showered yet?" she exclaimed.

"I changed clothes, I'm clean…I need to wash my hair…"

She cut a side eyed look at him and frowned slightly, "fine…what about after that?"

"Call time for me tonight is 4:30 but other than that, the day is kind of open. Renee has been on me like a rabid Chihuahua to meet you and 'do brunch' but I told her I would have to run that by you."

"You really want me to veto that, don't you?"

"I want you to do what you want to do."

"Oh that's such a cop out," she laughed. "Well, in that case, I want to 'do brunch' with Renee because I've been looking forward to actually meeting her…and it'll torture you a little bit."

"You're so thoughtful…" He trailed off when he saw her eyes focus in on her bag as she saw it on the conveyor belt and she started to move to grab it. Seth moved to stop her, "Which one?"

"The maroon one," she answered and smiled when he deftly grabbed it before it passed by them. "Thank you."

"Just putting the brawn to good use…"

It didn't take too long to get from the airport to the hotel. It was Sunday morning, the traffic was light.

Ren was currently on her back, stretched out across the bed in the room, waiting for Seth to finish his shower and exchanging texts with Amber. She was doing her best to give her best friend a run down of her morning so far.

Ren laughed to herself while retelling everything to her. She was pretty sure Seth had almost had a heart attack when he had opened up the door to the room and stood aside to let her in. She had walked casually into the room, stopped in her tracks, and then turned an incredulous look on him.

" _Did you think that since we were actually in the same place I was just going to jump into bed with you?" she asked._

 _He froze and the color drained out of his face. "What?"_

" _What happened to two beds?"_

 _That had been another point of contention they had gone in circles about; were they shacking up or was she going to get her own room. He kept insisting he would pay for them if she wanted her own and she kept insisting that she didn't want him to spend any unnecessary money and that she was fine sharing. They were adults; it wasn't a big deal._

" _Shit; I forgot to say something. Um…the company books our rooms and I- I couldn't get anything changed because the hotel is booked up. I wasn't…I'm not…no, I did not think that at all. I was going to just sleep on the couch thing."_

 _He was still frozen just inside the doorway and Ren tried to hold back her smile and keep a serious face but the look on his face and hearing him fall all over his words was just too much for her._

 _She cracked a smile and started laughing. She watched him visibly relax and drop his head as soon as she started laughing._

" _Bless you, you don't have to sleep on that tiny couch. A) you don't know what's happened on that couch and B) we're adults, we can share a king sized bed and be just fine."_

" _I hate you; I just want you to know that."_

" _You should've seen your face."_

" _I thought you were really upset! I stopped breathing. I think I almost passed out."_

" _I'm sorry, I really am…I couldn't let that one slide."_

 _He was giving her a stern look now. She imagined he was trying to pass off the appearance that he was angry but she didn't believe it._

" _You aren't funny."_

" _It was a little funny," she made a face, her nose scrunching up._

" _No, no it wasn't."_

 _She took the couple of steps back to him and looked up at him and pouted slightly. "I'm here for a reason, to spend time with you, and sleeping arrangements are a totally minuscule thing to worry about. It's solvable. I invited myself to this and I'm not going to let you jump through hoops for me. It's all good."_

 _He sighed deeply, his mouth tight, and looked down at her. "I'm trying to…I'm trying to not fuck shit up," he shrugged._

" _I think you're the one that needed the morning vodka and not me; relax."_

 _ **Just…relish the fact that you're going to be sharing a bed with him, Ren. There are quite a few women out there that would kill for that opportunity and also have your head for it.**_

Ren rolled her eyes at her friend's text. _**Don't be dramatic.**_

 _ **Cop a feel of his abs, too, please and report back  
Abs and ass. Whatever. All the 'A' words…**_

 _ **YOU HAVE A FIANCE AMBER.**_

 _ **I'M OFF THE MARKET BUT I'M NOT BLIND REN**_

 _ **Bye. I have things I need to do.**_

 _ **Like Seth?**_

 _ **I'm blocking you BYE.**_

Ren dropped her phone on the bed next to her and covered her face with both of her hands. She felt it vibrate and knew without even looking that it was a response from Amber. It was most likely an inappropriate response and she wasn't even going to bother with it right now. Out of her two best friends and the guy she was completely smitten for she seemed to be the only one actually keeping her cool at the moment.

Although to be fair, she had been slightly mean to pretend like she was upset. It had been funny, though.

She turned her head in the direction of the bathroom when she heard the door open and Seth walked out, still toweling off his hair. There was a small part of her that inwardly frowned that he was completely clothed; she had almost hoped that he would at least have forgotten a shirt. _The man does know how to wear a pair of jeans though…_ she thought to herself.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked as he tossed the towel aside and it landed on the back of the desk chair.

"I think I'm a little disturbed that your hair is so…" she sat up and leaned back against her hands and cocked her head to the side a little. "It's just very pretty. I'm sorry I can't think of a manlier way to say that…"

"A lot of conditioner," he replied, an amused look on his face.

She watched as he pulled it up in a low bun. "I always said I would never date a guy that had better hair than me."

"Why was that ever even a topic?"

"It was during my Orlando Bloom phase circa Pirates of the Caribbean, the first one, and Lord of the Rings. I know that was wig but he wore it so well…"

There was a knock on their door and they both looked towards it. Ren assumed it was Renee; he had told her before he even got into the shower that Renee and Dean may be coming by at any moment.

He turned his gaze back to her for a minute, studying her and she smiled back at him.

He smirked.

"What?" she asked.

There was another knock and this time they could here Renee shout something at them. He shook his head before he started to move.

" _What?_ " she repeated, emphasizing the word.

"I was just thinking it would be a shame to go through all of this and I don't even have a chance to date you because my hair is nice…"


	7. Trial By Fire

**Happy Thursday! It's so gross and rainy here today so I decided to share a new Chapter and brighten my day and hopefully all of your days, too! Happy reading!**

 **Thank you for the favorites/follows/reviews! I love hearing from you guys! Questions/comments/complaints? Feel free to PM me!**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Trial By Fire**

"You know I meant it when I told you that what you were already wearing today would be fine for tonight," Seth commented as he leaned against the open door to the bathroom and watched Ren fuss over one particular piece of her hair.

She glanced over at him, just a cut of her eyes, before returning her gaze back to the mirror.

"He says as he stands there looking fresh and slick in an all black suit," she said, smooth and dry.

"I'm required to be in a suit. Tomorrow and Tuesday I'll be in sweatpants and a t-shirt or maybe jeans."

"Well to be fair I _am_ in jeans, and I know you said it was fine, but I discussed this with Renee and so I changed. All I changed was my shirt and shoes."

"You changed your shirt three times."

She frowned and huffed and turned towards him, "you're a brat. Do you need help with that?"

She pointed at the tie in his hand and he glanced down at it.

"If you don't mind, you know how?"

"Of course I know how," she smiled and took the few steps towards him. She snatched the tie from his hand, an after effect of his previous exchange with her. "Stand up straight. One thing my dad made sure of when I was growing up is that I knew how to tie a tie. I can do bow ties, too and like three different knots. I'm a tie expert."

He stood up straight and looked down at her as she reached up to flip up the collar of his shirt. She had exchanged her converse for black booties that had a slight heel on them and she was slightly closer to his eye level than she usually was. He wasn't sure which height he preferred.

"You discussed what you should wear with Renee?" he asked, as if what she had said just processed in his head. "You look really nice, by the way."

"Thank you and yes," Ren smiled softly, keeping her eyes ahead of her and focused on her hands. "Not that I don't trust you but I needed a chick's opinion. I invited myself here so the least I can do is make sure I make a good impression on your people."

"To be fair there was a good chance I was going to invite you myself, you just beat me to it…"

"I tend to jump the gun sometimes."

"You're nervous."

"Is that a question or a comment?"

"Comment."

"I'm not nervous; I'm excited," she replied. She tightened the knot on his tie and patted it. She flipped his collar back down and smoothed it with her fingers before she met his gaze. She had realized throughout the course of the day that his eyes were surprisingly mesmerizing even with how dark they were. "This is a first, for me, and I'm excited; to see the show and to watch you be a bad guy, and meet Roman, and some of the other people you've told me about. I'm not nervous, though. People; I can do. I'm in radio, remember? I've never met a stranger in my life. I just…I'm trying not to fuck this up."

Seth cracked a smile at her recall of his words from earlier.

"Dean and Renee loved you; you aren't going to fuck anything up. There's nothing _too_ fuck up…just be you; be Ren."

"Dean and Renee loved me because I told them a sappy story…"

 _Katherine and Seth were sitting across from Dean and Renee in small_ _café_ _that wasn't too far away from the hotel. Katherine had been a little taken aback when Renee had greeted her with a hug but it hadn't taken her very long to understand that Renee just had that kind of personality. They had exchanged tweets and comments with each other over the last couple of weeks, ever since Renee had taken it upon herself to follow Ren, and she felt like they were already old friends._

 _Much to Ren's relief, Renee had ordered a mimosa to go with her brunch and Ren had happily joined her. She had no intentions of drinking enough to even give herself a buzz but there was some kind placebo effect of knowing she was sipping champagne that steadied her._

 _She wasn't even anxious; her anxiety had disappeared as soon as she had seen Seth standing in the airport and she had hugged him. They had fallen in to their usual comfortable banter. It hadn't felt weird for her; it had felt normal. She had a nervous energy about her, though, mainly just out of excitement._

 _Seth, Dean and Renee had all done a good job of making her feel comfortable. They had tried to keep the conversation flowing and centered on things she could be included in and not just 'talking business'. She had gotten to hear about Renee's path to the WWE and Dean's path, as well as some of his and Seth's stories from their indie days. Ren already knew quite a bit about Seth; he was content to sit back and let his friends fill in some of the gaps, but he would jump in when she had questions._

" _Okay, Ren, so I know you work for a radio station but I feel like I've internet stalked you enough to know the photography is your real love," Renee stated. Ren looked across the table at the blonde and gave her a small smile. "How did that happen? Was it just a hobby and you realized you had an eye for it or...?"_

 _Renee trailed off, leaving the question open and hanging in the air. Ren reached for her drink and took a small sip and then picked at her plate for a second with her fork._

" _I guess you could say it was kind of a hobby and kind of a passion," she shrugged. She sat her fork down and wiped her fingers on the napkin in her lap and then sat back against the chair back. "Um, when I was younger my aunt lived with us, she was a photographer, and she traveled all the time taking pictures so she felt like it was a waste to actually own her own home. So my dad took her in. She did mostly freelance stuff, mostly landscapes, but she did some portraits, too, and fashion stuff. For some reason she fascinated me, I think it was because she traveled the world, and kid Katherine was just amazed by that. She was like this real life gypsy and I worshiped her and I also followed her around like a lost puppy when she was actually home. She taught me that it was more than just 'point and click'. There's something you have to see. She taught me how to work a camera, too, how to change the lenses, how to manually set a flash, how to develop in a dark room…she taught me all of it. I don't know if she ever thought I would turn in to her, I think she was just happy to have someone to teach…she didn't have any kids or anything, it was just us."_

 _Seth had settled back in his chair, too. He had heard this 'story' before; he and Ren had already talked about it, but hearing her talk to their two companions was just like talking to her about it for the first time and he loved listening to her talk.  
_

" _So, I always had it as a hobby; I was the girl that took cool picture on vacations or trips or at concerts and that you could call when you were in a bind for your family Christmas card_ _or_ _your wedding. So I went to school in South Carolina and Chicago and then I moved back to Nashville about three years ago and my aunt passed away a couple months after I moved back and it was tough because I felt like I didn't get enough time with her at the end, that I missed out by being away. She left me all of her cameras, she had this huge collection of antiques, and all of her new stuff; and I just kind of made a promise to myself that I was going to put more love_ _in to_ _it. Maybe not…travel around the world like her but at least make it more of a priority in my life, professionally and personally, and I have. She always told me 'capture your moment' so I just tried to make sure I lived by that a little more. So that's where it came from."_

 _Renee passed a warm and affectionate look across the table, "I think I want to marry you…like right now."_

 _Her random statement and the seriousness and ferocity of how she said it caused everyone at the table to laugh._

" _I'm sorry but I may have to fight you on that one," Dean finally commented._

 _Katherine shrugged, "I'm pretty sure I would lose that fight seeing as how you literally fight for a living."_

" _Yeah but they fake fight. I don't think he could even actually hurt a fly…" Renee teased._

" _It's not fake it's scripted," Dean pouted._

" _Did you bring your camera with you for this?" Renee asked._

" _I did," Ren nodded, "I couldn't go on a trip and not bring one, but I did promise that tonight I wouldn't be lost behind a camera so I could take in everything."_

" _That one hates pictures," Dean nodded towards Seth._

" _Oh, I've been warned," Ren responded brightly._

"It wasn't the sappy story," Seth rolled his eyes and turned on his heel as Ren moved past him into the room. "It's not even a sappy story; it's just your story. We all have one."

"Do I need to take anything with me?"

"You need your ID for security but if you don't want to take a purse you can put whatever in my bag."

"Thank you." Ren rummaged in her small messenger bag she had been carrying for most of the day and turned to him, handing over her wallet. Her gaze fell on the bed and then she gave him an amused look. "Do you _really_ have to carry that brief case around with you?"

"Yes," he glanced at it and frowned. "It's a pain in the ass."

"All the time?"

"All the time and let me tell you that here is nothing I love more than walking through the airport with a goldish yellow dented 'Money In the Bank' briefcase. I'm very grateful for what it represents but I'm ready to get rid of it."

"Is there actually something in it?"

"No it's empty," he frowned at the briefcase again. "They did rig it up once so that it slimed me."

Ren snickered.

"Like…'you can't say that on television' green Nickelodeon slime. You were probably still dodging your living room on Monday nights when that happened."

"I hope it's on YouTube," she grinned.

"It's on the network…"

"Yeah, I keep forgetting that's a thing…" she made a face. "I still have a lot to learn."

"Well you're about to learn via trial by fire so are you ready?"

She smiled brightly, "yeah I'm ready."

One situation that Ren was fairly familiar with being in was being backstage for events; concerts, award shows, lectures, even fashion shows. It was familiar territory for her. With her pass hanging securely around her neck and Seth beside her to introduce her to people they encountered and somewhat lead her, she felt pretty comfortable and confident. She wasn't incredibly comfortable and confident in her ability to remember all of the names, especially since she realized there were quite a few people that went by their 'real' name and not their stage names which she somewhat already knew, but she would manage for now.

She couldn't help but snicker to herself a little bit at all of the St. Louis Blues logos decorating the underbelly of the arena, though. She had quickly explained to Seth that the Blue and the Predators were intense rivals; they hated each other. He had quickly made her promise she wouldn't vandalize anything. She knew he had been teasing her but it still made her laugh.

The only slight moment of panic she had felt had arrived when Seth was beckoned away for a creative meeting. He had told her it could take five minute or it could take an hour; they never really knew. She had sent him on his way and told him not to worry; she would take care of herself.

Taking care of herself was mostly just wandering the hallways and looking for a familiar face; Dean or Renee.

She got a whiff of food in the air and realized she was close to catering. She popped into the open doorway, scanned the room with her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted Dean sitting at a table by himself and his attention focused on his phone. She made her way through the tables and he smiled, his eyes lighting up slightly, when he spotted her.

"Hey, it's the little bird," he said, greeting her quickly. "What are you doing wandering around here alone? Did you get abandoned?"

He pulled out the chair next to him and motioned for her to sit as he took his own seat.

"Oh, no, I skipped out on him while he was in the locker room. I was really just trying to get backstage and find bigger and better things," she shrugged as she sat down.

Dean passed her an amused look at her quick quip, "I just want you to know that I'm going to tell him that you said that."

"Maybe it won't break his heart as much if it comes from you," she smiled.

Dean shook his head and laughed to himself.

"He had to go to a meeting and I told him I could fend for myself for a little bit."

"Well you're welcome to hang out with me. Nae is getting her hair and makeup done if you would rather hang out there but according to my last status update she's supposed to be finished soon."

"You're with the food so I think I'll opt for you."

"Good choice, I'm guessing you haven't eaten dinner yet?"

"No, I haven't…I hadn't even really realized it was dinner time. I kind of feel like I should wait for him, though."

Dean frowned, "no, no, no…you never have to wait for him. You'll be an old maid before you ever get to eat if you do that. Come on, you can be my dinner date until the blonde one shows up."

When Seth found Ren later she was still in catering, sitting at a table with Roman. She had a cup of coffee in her hand and she looked so relaxed. Whatever Roman was saying to her, it made her laugh, and he had to smile at the sight of her lighting up when she laughed.

Her eyes fell on him approaching the table and she continued to smile brightly at him.

"I hope that whatever he's talking about isn't a story about me…" Seth stated, coming to stand next to the table, across from Roman.

"Oh I've heard a lot of stories about you tonight," Ren said.

"Not from me, though," Roman added, "I was nice."

"He's been going all proud papa on me and telling me about Joelle. She's close to Lily's age," Ren finished piecing together their responses to Seth.

"And now that he's back, I'll put you back in to his hands. It was great to finally meet you, Ren," Roman said, standing up. "I hope you're around more."

Ren smiled and hugged him in a goodbye. Seth and Roman exchanged a quick nod at each other and then Seth watched him walk off.

He turned his eyes on Ren, his hands were buried in the pockets of his dress pants, and he gave her an amused look. "So you heard stories about me?"

"Nothing incriminating, I promise."

"That's a relief."

"I'm still here, aren't I?" She smiled.

He nodded and glanced around the mostly empty area before his eyes settled on her again. She could tell his wheels were spinning in his head a little bit and she tilted her head slightly, observing him.

"I guess you already ate?" He asked.

She nodded, "I ate with Dean and Renee and Nicole and Brie and I met a few other people during this whole little time. They're sweet; it was fun. It was entertaining."

"I'm sorry that I took so long," he sighed. "I...there's a lot going on with the show tonight and it just took longer than I really wanted it to take."

"Don't apologize," she smiled.

"No, I am. I didn't want to just throw you to the wolves and...I did."

"Seth," Ren said sweetly and stepped forward. She met his eyes and looked up at him with a serious, somewhat stern look. "You don't ever have to apologize to me for doing your job."

He inhaled sharply at the mixture of her comment and the look she was giving him.

"I know you're busy and I know how much _all_ of this means to you. I know that from getting to know you, and watching you, and talking to the people you spend all your time with. If I have to occupy myself in catering, it's fine, I don't mind. I get free cupcakes and nobody can ever be mad about that." He cracked a small smile at her. "I get it and you don't have to say that you're sorry; at least not when you're here and you're on the clock."

"Thank you," he replied.

She could tell just by his body language that some kind of weight had just disappeared from him.

He motioned his head towards the hallway, "let me take you to the backstage entrance so you can go to your seat."

"Is it seriously almost time for the show to start?"

"Yeah, the pre show already started. You're missing all of the fun."

She fell in to step next to him and they were quiet for a few moments as they walked. Ren felt like he was still in his head a little bit but she wasn't going to push it.

"What did you think of the twins?" he asked, glancing at her. He had a mischievous smile on his lips.

"They were… _sweet_ ," she replied, matching his smile. "They're gorgeous and they were really nice to me and very sweet. They're um…I don't even really know what word I'm looking for."

"Neurotic?"

"No, I feel like that's a bit harsh…ditzy, maybe?" she gave a nervous laugh. "They are sweet, though."

"They're really good friends with Renee. They drive Dean crazy."

"I can see that. He's quiet."

"He is. I'm not totally sure how he and Renee even work, really. It seems like it just happened. One day, she was riding with us, and that was that."

"Opposites attract," Ren smiled.

"I've always kind of felt like that was a little bit of bullshit."

"You don't think we're opposites?"

He eyed her carefully at her question. "I said a little bit of bullshit, I didn't say total bullshit. I think too much opposite is a bad thing…I actually _know_ too much opposite is a bad thing."

Ren was quiet for a moment as they continued walking and then she bumped him casually. "I have questions for you later. Not now, and they aren't bad questions so don't start getting in your head about them and end up having a bad night." She huffed out of frustration and shook her head, "fuck, I shouldn't have said anything."

"I'm not going to get in my head about anything, Ren. I figured if you ended up hearing stories about me that you would have some questions. It's fine."

They approached a curtain entry way and Ren could now hear the crowd that had gathered in the arena for the pay per view.

"You're right by the ring so I don't think you'll have any problems finding your seat and you can come and go as much as you want since you have a pass…shows can get kind of long sometimes. I'll have my phone on me."

"I got this; I'm going straight to the bar first," she grinned.

He shook his head, "don't buy any merch; I'll take care of all of that if you want anything…or if Amber or your brother or whoever wants something. And I promise after the show I'll have more time. We can order room service and you can ask your questions."

"I told you not to worry about time and being busy."

"I know. That's the last time I'm mentioning it," he laughed lightly at the glare she gave him.

"You worry too much," she huffed. She started motioning her hands in a shooing motion at him. "You're the one that needs to hit up the bar. Go and relax and eat a burrito, and also one of the strawberry cupcakes because they're delicious and just…do Seth Rollins things. I will be just fine."

"Yes ma'am," he gave her a little salute and winked at her.

"Ok well have a good show and…be safe tonight. Don't make me come all the way out to St. Louis just to watch you get hurt, ok?" Ren reached up to straighten out the knot of his tie and she gave him a poignant look.

"I don't get injuries; don't worry. And you invited yourself out here, remember?"

She rolled her eyes, "whatever. I'm going now."

He had cracked a small smile at her eye roll which almost prompted her to roll her eyes again. She shook her head and then without even really thinking about it she shifted to her toes and leaned up to kiss him. She startled herself; her mind immediately started racing and she could feel the butterflies and nervous feeling swirling in the pit of her stomach. What the hell was she doing? Then he reacted to her kiss, leaning back into it and bringing one hand up to caress her face.

It was a brief kiss, at least it felt brief; she wasn't sure how long it actually lasted. She was sure that she was blushing, though, when it ended. Her hands were resting on his chest and she smoothed his jacket before she let her eyes meet his. He was giving her an assessing look and she could still see a hint of surprise in his eyes; he almost looked amused.

"Ren…" he started to speak and she stepped back from him and shook her head, cutting him off.

"No, let's just…let's just leave that there in the open and I'm going to go to my seat."

She didn't give him a chance to say anything more. She turned on her heel and quickly headed for the curtains, pushing through them and letting them fall behind her as she disappeared into the arena.


	8. Yes

**Happy Friday! I had a few requests for a new chapter ASAP and who am I to deny that? Hope you enjoy and I hope you all have a great weekend!**

 **Thank you as always for the follows/favorites/reviews! Ava: if you have an account and you're able to PM I'll answer your questions for you! :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Yes**

Katherine's cell phone was lighting up with texts from 'back home' before Survivor Series had even ended. As soon as the sound of Sting's crow echoed through the arena her brother and Tyler were texting her. She couldn't help roll her eyes at the feeling of her phone vibrating in the back pocket of her jeans.

She finally reached back to snatch the phone from her pocket, taking her eyes off of Seth and finally giving in to the boys.

"Seriously a group text?" She muttered to herself.

 _ **Tyler: OH MY GOD DID YOU KNOW STING WAS GOING TO BE THERE?**_

 _ **Tyler: Please get me an autograph! Get pictures!**_

 _ **Kent: Fucking STING!**_ _**I hate you right now.**_

She rolled her eyes again. Well this was about to get obnoxious.

 _ **Ren: Both of you shut up and let me enjoy myself. No I didn't know. I'm not going to just prance up to him and harass him. Y'all calm down.**_

 _ **Tyler: Ask your boyfriend!**_

 _ **Ren: Boys please. And he's not my boyfriend...**_

She returned the phone to her pocket. She would deal with them later.

She watched Stephanie and Triple H standing in the ring as everything wrapped up. She was quite impressed by Stephanie's commitment to her shock and angst at being ousted from power. Seth eventually rolled out of the ring, clutching his side, and she bit back a smirk when she caught him throwing a wink at her as he passed by the barrier in front of her. She was pretty sure the bad guys weren't supposed to be flirting with audience members.

She sat for a bit to let the crowd thin out and knowing that it would probably be a good while before she left the arena anyways. She looked at her phone again and gave another ferocious eye roll.

 _ **Kent: If he isn't your BF then why the HELL are you spending the weekend with him?**_  
 _ **Kent: Stop ignoring us.**_

 _ **Tyler: Sleep with him to get us autographs. Take one for the team. THIS IS IMPORTANT KATHERINE.**_

 _ **Kent: NO! Don't do that…**_

 _ **Ren: y'all stop!**_

She shook her head at her brother and her friend, they were ridiculous. She tossed back the last shot of beer that was left in her cup, she had to indulge just a bit, and then started to make her way back to the curtains she had left Seth at just a few hours before.

Her stomach flipped as she got closer and she remembered their brief kiss. She still hadn't quite wrapped her head around the fact that she had done that. She knew there was going to be a conversation coming.

There was a tiny part of her that expected him to be standing there waiting for her. It was Renee, though, and not Seth that greeted her.

"Hi!" Renee said excitedly and took Ren's arm before linking them together.

"Hi, Renee," Ren laughed.

"I was asked to intercept you so you knew where to go. He's changing but it doesn't usually take them very long."

"That was sweet of him, and you, I'm sure I would've eventually found my way. I would've just wandered around until someone rescued me or I got kicked out."

"Nah, we would've just adopted you as one of us and given you a job and moved you along to the next city."

"Like the circus?" Ren joked.

"Yes, exactly like the circus; minus the creepy clowns."

The two girls shared a laugh as they walked. Ren had no idea where Renee was leading her but she was going to just go with the flow.

"What did you think of the circus? Different than seeing it on TV, eh?" Renee asked.

"Oh, you just said eh like the good Canadian you are!" Ren laughed. "Yeah it was a lot different than seeing it on TV. The ring is smaller than it appears to be, at least it was for me, and it's a lot more enjoyable to just watch the matches and not have the commentary guys just blah blah blah the whole time. It was _fun_ though, like, I was totally into it even though I know that all of this is already planned out. I'm not a big fan of seeing Seth get his ass kicked…but I guess I should get used to that. I have some questions but I'll save those for him…"

"Probably a good idea because I probably wouldn't have the answers," Renee smiled.

"My brother and my best friend's fiancé are freaking out about Sting. They group texted me and just wouldn't shut up about it."

"Everyone is freaking out about that."

"Renee, where exactly are we going?" Ren finally asked her.

"Um…I don't know, actually. I was just kind of walking and talking," Renee laughed lightly. "I usually just hang around in the locker room or one of the hallways until Dean is ready to leave, or catering if it's still set up. We can get some tea?"

"That works."

They made their way to the area where catering had been set up early. All of the food was packed away but the coffee and hot water for tea were still set up. They both fixed a cup for their self and then wandered off into a hallway near the boy's locker rooms. Renee perched herself on top of an equipment case and patted next to her for Ren to join her.

"If you're going to be around, you have to learn to just make yourself at home and make yourself comfortable," Renee smiled as Ren settled next to her.

Ren inhaled deeply and took a sip of her tea. She was quiet for a moment, staring at the concrete wall ahead of her and letting her mind drift for a few minutes. She was thinking back over the day and the whole pay per view and how things had developed between her and Seth.

Does something really blossom from that? Do you spend weeks talking to someone on the phone after meeting them in person once and develop real feelings for them? Was what she was feeling and the kiss she had planted on him just a result of them being in the same place at the same time? She wasn't afraid to admit to herself, at least in that moment, that it had been a fairly decent amount of time since she had been involved with someone outside of flirting in a bar or having one date and she wasn't entirely sure if this was all real or if she was just reacting to the attention and the close proximity of a very hot man. Heaven only knew what he was thinking.

"Um…so normally I would probably go to my best friend for this but she's at work right now and I know she won't be able to respond to me and…I don't know, I feel like you and I have kind of quickly bonded…" Ren started, glancing to her side to look at Renee.

"Yeah, I think that's partially because I've forced myself on you," the blonde smiled and shrugged. "But what's up? Are you about to ask me questions about Seth?"

"Yeah."

"Shoot."

"Does he do this very often? Bring a girl to his pay per view or his shows? Or is this something really out of the norm for him?"

"No, he doesn't do it very often," Renee smiled softly at her new friend. "I can't even say very often, it's been a long time since I've heard him even mention a girl let alone have one around here, it's been months. It's been at least since his last girlfriend."

Ren nodded and sat back against the wall that was behind them. "We haven't…we hadn't really established any kind of anything leading into this weekend. He wanted to come down to Nashville and our schedules didn't mix so I kind of invited myself here. So I don't...I don't know. I guess I'm getting anxious."

"He talks about you a lot," Renee said. "At least to us he does, me and Dean...and I can say that he's had a lot of these same worries that you're telling me right now. He was very bewildered about if he even should call or text you when you gave him your number. We all kind of poked and prodded him about it. He wanted to be sure that was what you really wanted."

"When I was 'bar girl'," Ren chuckled.

"He is not as much of a lady's man as people like to think; I mean ladies love him but-" Renee paused and took in the look that Ren had leveled at her. "Ok that isn't helping. Ok, wrestling is a _huge_ deal for him; this was his dream and it's his whole world. Even when he goes home he just started his wrestling school, you know? So having you here and introducing you to everyone and kind of sharing all of this with you; it's kind of one of those 'gestures', you know? It's kind of like him establishing how he feels about you without actually saying it. He doesn't just let anyone in."

"I kissed him," Ren said flatly.

"No! Did you?" Renee exclaimed.

"Yeah before I went to my seat, I just…kissed him. It just felt like the natural thing to do. It felt…it felt right. It was all 'have a good show, be safe' and I just kissed him."

"Well…there you go…establishment. And seriously, Ren, don't fret over what you two are. I saw how he was looking at you when we were all talking at brunch earlier. He's very smitten."

Ren smiled, "thank you."

Shortly after their short heart to heart chat, Renee had gotten beckoned off by Paige and had left Katherine on her own in the hallway. She had asked three times if Ren was going to be fine and Ren assured her she was all good. She had simply busied herself with her phone, scrolling through her social media accounts, texting Amber and Shelby and responding to the boys' group text.

She was sitting on the equipment case, still leaning against the wall and scrolling through her phone when Seth exited the locker room and spotted her. He had just started to reach for his phone to contact her and find out where she was and he slipped his phone back into his pocket as he walked towards her.

"Hey you," he stated.

Her head shot up and she smiled when her eyes settled on him.

"Hi!" she greeted him warmly. "How are you?"

"Oh I'm fine, I'm good. I figured Renee would have you off somewhere making friendship bracelets with the Bellas…"

"You know, we were _just_ about to go do that but then Paige frantically needed her and I opted to just stay here and wait on you. More waiting…sheesh," she rolled her eyes.

"I have a present for you if that helps make up for all the waiting you've been doing."

Her eyes widened slightly and she sat up straight, "I like presents. How did you manage to get a present for me when we've been here all night?"

"Because it came from here; I got the catering manager to give me the leftover strawberry cupcakes for you…"

"Well, I will gladly sit here and wait all damn night if I'm getting rewarded with cupcakes," she smiled brightly. He had changed back in to his suit, sans jacket and tie, and pulled his hair into the low bun he always wore. She was a little sad that he hadn't left his hair down. She was very fond of his long curly hair. She resisted her urge to reach out and run her fingers through the blonde streak; she had already accosted him before the show, she was just going to leave it at that. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, but I would like to actually get some sleep tonight so you don't have to wait around here anymore. If you're ready to go?"

"I'm ready when you are."

"I'll grab my stuff, and then start talking; I'm ready for the Ren Bolton review of her first pay per view."

Talk she did and he let her talk. It wasn't a long trip to get back to the hotel but it was long enough for her to get her thoughts out in the open. He enjoyed her takes on everything and her questions she had for him. In all honesty, for him, it was refreshing. He hated 'talking business' when he didn't have to; he tried to keep his wrestling life and his regular life as separate as he could, but she wasn't immersed in it like he was and her curiosity and genuine interest was good for him.

She had quieted down once they had stepped onto the elevator and he pressed the button for their floor. She could tell that he was tired; it was all over his face. She imagined he was fairly beaten up and sore, too, there was no way he couldn't be. She probably wouldn't believe him if he told her he wasn't.

She finally let her mind drift to whenever the elephant in the room would be addressed. Surely he would mention her hasty kiss. Maybe she should mention it. Did she want to discuss it?

The elevator doors opened on their floor and he let her step off first. There was a brief moment when his hand grazed the small of her back as she stepped out and her stomach flip flopped.

She wanted to take his hand but she kept her hands in front of her and to herself.

"You quieted down," he stated, looking at her.

"Mhmm, I felt like I was starting to get close to the edge of being obnoxious so I decided to cool it off for a bit."

"I like listening to you talk."

She shared a smile with him and then stood quietly as he unlocked their door and pushed it open, letting her walk by him and into the room first. She crossed the room to discard the box of cupcakes from her hands and she could hear the door shut behind her and the sound of his suit jacket being tossed on the bed.

Before she could turn around and speak to him again she felt his hand slip into hers and he spun her around as he pulled her as close to him as he could. There was a split second, just a moment, which their eyes locked and then he cupped her face in his hands and lowered his head to kiss her. There was immediate heat when their lips met. She slid her hands up his chest and wrapped them around his neck, trying to get closer to him even though she knew it wasn't possible. Her mind went blank. She let herself melt into his kiss and the feeling of his hands and the taste of his lips; a slow, deep kiss. It was light ages different than the one they had shared earlier. This had so many unspoken feelings stacked up behind it that were playing out in that very intimate moment.

She felt his tongue slide across her lips, silently begging for access, and a soft, low moan escaped her and it snapped her back into the moment and back into reality.

She pulled her head back, breaking their kiss but keeping their contact and she let her eyelids flutter a few times before looking at him. She needed to catch her breath before she spoke and she could hear him take a few ragged breaths as well.

"Seth…" she finally started and then stopped, still unsure of what she was going to say.

He brushed her hair back and smiled softly. "I'm sorry but I needed to do that and get it out of the way. I've been thinking about it since you ran through the curtain to go to your seat four hours ago."

"I didn't run."

"You scurried."

"Scurry is just as bad as run," she scoffed and sighed. She let herself relax and leaned into him slightly, mindlessly playing with the collar of his shirt. She realized a few of the buttons were undone. "Seth, I don't…I don't want to…can we just be slow about all of this?"

"Yes."

"I really don't want to just jump into things with you because we're in the same place at the same time and we're in this room. I want to actually…oh," she stopped and blinked rapidly a few times, "Oh, you said yes."

He chuckled at her slightly surprised look.

"Yes, I did."

"I had a speech, I wasn't prepared for that."

"Ren, I've wanted to kiss you since I saw you in the airport this morning."

"I have too…"

He smirked slightly, running his thumb along her lower lip and then he dropped his hands to her waist. "You…have been in my head all night. Truthfully you're in my head all the time. This whole day and then kissing me and running off and seeing you sitting there in the front row for the show; it's been the best day I've had in a long time."

"It's been a very good day," she replied softly.

"But I promise you, we can be slow about all of this. I want to spend time with you, I want to get to know you better _in person_ , I want to date you; and I know you still have some reservations about me and this, _us_ , and that's fine. I'll wait. I just…I really needed to kiss you."

She nodded and bit her lip gently. "What does…what does that mean, exactly?"

"It means when we're back around this whole shit show tomorrow and someone asks me about you and if you're my girlfriend, I'm going to tell them that you are as long as you're on board with that, and it also means that I'm still more than happy to sleep on the couch…"

"I'm on board with it."

"Yeah?"

"Yes, and you don't have to sleep on that couch," she replied.

"Are you sure?"

She nodded and then cracked a smile, "I'll just put all the pillows between us to make sure you stay in your area."

"I got you cupcakes; you could at least let me keep my pillow."

"Fair enough."

He kissed her forehead and pulled her to him again, hugging her gently. He could feel her rest her head against his chest. They stood quietly for a few moments, embracing. He finally broke the silence.

"Are you hungry? I was going to order some food."

"No, I'm good. I had some popcorn during the show." She inhaled deeply and stepped back from him. "I do need to shower, though, since we have to get up so fucking early in the morning."

"Have at it. I'll set up the pillows to block off our areas while you're in there."

"I was joking about that," she frowned at him.

"Which side of the bed do you want?" He continued to give her his teasing, amused look.

"Which side of the bed do you usually sleep on?" She countered.

"I asked you first."

She partially rolled her eyes and moved over to her bag to retrieve the clothes she brought along to sleep in. "To be honest I usually sleep in the middle of my bed or wherever my dog will allow me to sleep, so I don't have a preference."

"Isn't it amazing how they can take up so much room?"

"At least Kevin is tiny."

"He thinks he's a fucking German shepherd though."

She cracked a small smile at his grumbling as she started towards the bathroom on the other side of the room. She flipped on the light and surveyed the room for a moment as she ran her fingers across her lips; she could swear she could still feel the heat of his kiss on them. She had to suppress a small giggle but couldn't hold back her smile. She stepped backed into the room and peered at him quietly. He had sat on the edge of the bed and was looking through the room service booklet.

He glanced up at her after minute and lifted his eyebrows in question. "Ma'am?"

"Can I sleep in one of your shirts?" She asked sheepishly.

"We've been official for like 82 seconds and you're already trying to steal my clothes?"

She shrugged and smiled sweetly at him. "Well you did get me cupcakes so I suppose I can handle a no on that…"

"Oh a guilt trip?"

"Did it work?"

He motioned towards his bag, "Help yourself."


	9. Pillow Talk

**Happy Monday everyone!**

 **I want to send a special shout out to Amnbama today- she's having neck surgery- so many many many warm thoughts and well wishes to her! And I promised her that I would have a chapter ready for her to read, so here it is! Heal up soon, ma'am!**

 **As always- thank you for those who have favorited & followed- you guys rock!**

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Pillow Talk  
**

Katherine winced at the loud hiss the small coffee maker in the room made as it finished brewing her one small cup of coffee. In the dim light and the quiet it seemed far too loud. She gave a quick glance over her shoulder to the bed.

Seth was still asleep; he didn't even stir at the sound, stretched out on his back and one arm tucked under his two pillows.

She smiled softly at the sight of him. He was peaceful and relaxed while he slept. She was happy to see him resting after watching him struggle to keep his eyes open just a few hours before, trying to stay awake for her. He had finally fallen asleep before her in the middle of conversation about how things were going to work the next two days with the shows and traveling and she had shimmied out of his comfortable grip from their cuddling to turn off the lights and settled in and hoped she didn't disturb him.

 _Bless me he's handsome…_ she thought to herself as she looked at him.

Now she was wide awake for no discernible reason other than 'why the hell not?' She always had trouble sleeping and staying asleep when she was away from home. So she had retrieved her laptop from her bag and settled in the middle of her area of the bed to knock out a little work while he was still sleeping.

She crawled back to her spot again, glancing at him to make sure she still hadn't bothered him. "Quiet as a church mouse…" she muttered to herself. She sat Indian style and cradled the small Styrofoam cup in her hands and turned her attention back to her laptop to read over what she had been working on.

Seth stirred from his sleep slowly, blinking several times and letting his eyes adjust to the dim light in the room. He didn't even remember falling asleep; he barely remembered what he and Ren were talking about before he dozed off. He rubbed his face with one hand and a soft smile spread across his lips when he realized that Ren was sitting in the middle of the bed. He could make out the green of ear her buds and she was slightly hunched over her computer. He turned his head to the side to look at the clock on the night stand and check the time. He didn't want to move too much and disturb her yet; he wanted to have a little moment of watching her before she realized he was awake.

They were both awake earlier than they needed to be. They had thirty minutes before his alarm would be going off.

She had curled up on the bed and snuggled up to him when she had gotten out of the shower and they had just talked and laughed and watched TV until he fell asleep. There hadn't been any awkward hesitation, it was just natural. He was glad it was natural. He knew that there were still things between them that needed to be worked out and talked out but for the moment he was happy. She made him happy. It had been a long time since he had felt the connection with someone like he felt with her and he knew for certain that he wanted more than what their friendship had been up until the night before. It wasn't just pure physical attraction, either. He wouldn't deny the physical attraction and how tough it had been to be so close to her and not behave like a horny teenager, but it was definitely more.

She was guarded. She had been since the night they had met. There were little moments where she opened up to him and the more they had talked the more it happened. It would drop more when she talked about her family, especially her niece, and when she got him to talk about his life. He had every intention of trying his best to make her let the guard all the way down.

He wanted it all with her.

She sat up straight and stretched her arms above her head and her shirt, his shirt that she had commandeered the night before, lifted up slightly and he could just make out part of one of the tattoos she had on her back.

He reached out towards her. She was sitting just close enough that he was able to slip his fingers under the edge of her shirt and tickle her lightly on the side.

She jumped away from him and let out a string of cuss words as she pulled her ear buds from her ears and whipped her head around at him.

He was laughing quietly and she sent him a death glare.

"You scared the _shit_ out of me!" she exclaimed.

"I know," he laughed.

"Jesus…fucking, fuck, Seth…" she stuttered out, resting her hand on her chest and taking a deep breath. He was still laughing. "How long have you been laying there watching me like a little creepster?"

"Only a minute or two," he replied. He cleared his throat and tried to settle down his laughter. "What are you doing?"

"I was working."

"At 6:30 am?"

"I couldn't sleep," she shrugged, "well, I slept fine I just don't sleep well in hotels, really. I never stay asleep."

"I'm sorry," he frowned slightly.

"It's fine, I expect it. I'm just too much of a home body I think."

"Says the girl that is always on the go…"

"In my hometown."

"What kind of work are you doing? I'm pretty sure I remember you promising me you were going to leave the station behind while you were here…"

"I did; I'm doing…pleasure work?" she gave him a bewildered face. "I was writing a blog post about last night and all of you guys. I figure that the WWE is sports entertainment so it falls under my sports umbrella and it'll be something new instead of me or Amber dribbling on about hockey and football and how much we hate Jay Cutler…"

"Leave my QB alone."

She grinned at him.

"Are you going to break the news to your fan boys that you were writing that blog while Seth Rollins was in bed next to you?"

"I do not have fan boys."

"Oh…you definitely do. I have seen your twitter and your Instagram…"

She scoffed and rolled her eyes, "you're one to talk."

"You posted those flowers that I got you and some of them were so salty. It was sweet."

"I'm pretty sure the consensus was how lucky I was to be getting such gorgeous flowers and how lucky _you_ were to have me to send flowers to. Thank you; and I am pretty damn lucky."

"You didn't say they were from me."

"I wasn't going to flaunt that. I'm a humble bragger. And I didn't know if it was okay to do that…"

"It's okay, I don't care. Unless your fan boys come after me."

" _Stop_ ," she scolded, trying to hold back her amusement at their snarky exchange. "You're so smug. I'm going to tell the world that you talk in your sleep."

"I'll tell them that you snore."

"I know I do, I'm sorry…I should've warned you about that. I broke my nose when I was younger and I never got it properly fixed…"

"Ah, I didn't mind it. It's kind of cute, actually. It could be worse." He reached for hand and laced their fingers together and pulled her over to him. She laughed lightly and settled in to him, resting her hand on his chest and resting her chin on her hand. "How did you break your nose?"

"I know I do, I'm sorry…I should've warned you about that. I broke my nose when I was younger and I never got it properly fixed…"

"Ah, I didn't mind it. It's kind of cute, actually. It was like a cat...it could be worse." He reached for hand and laced their fingers together and pulled her over to him. She laughed lightly and settled in to him, resting her hand on his chest and resting her chin on her hand. He lightly ran his finger down her nose. "How did you break your nose?"

She laughed and lowered her head, resting her forehead against her hand.

"Oh I feel like this is going to be a good story," he replied, smiling.

"Oh man, when I was in 8th grade we took a class field trip to the skating rink during school, it was like a reward for good grades you know? Someone had spilled some drink on the floor and they missed some when they cleaned it up and I was jammin right along to some Destiny's Child like I was hot shit and my roller blades hit the puddle and I very ungracefully went face first into the wall."

"Oh fuck!" He tried not to laugh but couldn't hold back a snort and a snicker. "Oh that's not funny but it is…"

"Yeah, yeah," she frowned and chuckled. "It was awful. There was blood everywhere and I had a black eye and the _whole_ fucking grade saw it. Everyone. I was mortified."

"Did you drop out and move away right then and there?"

"I'm pretty sure I asked my mom if we could. I became 'that' girl. I wanted to hide under a paper bag when I went back the next day. I couldn't get a date for a good year, everyone thought I would trip or fall and be embarrassing," she grinned. "Amber stuck by me."

"I would've totally dated middle school Ren; black eye and all."

She smiled, "I was a theatre nerd."

"I was a wrestling nerd with red spiky hair."

"No!" She laughed, "red?"

"I was _so_ cool."

"I bet you were!" she replied, matching his teasing tone and smile. "I need to see this."

He shook his head and rubbed his face before chuckling. "It's on google if you look hard enough. I tweeted it once and it's made the rounds."

"I'm filing this away. As soon as we're up and active I am hunting that down."

"You know now that you've told me this story your nose _is_ kind of crooked. You've got a bent beak, little bird."

She frowned at him, " _brat._ "

"Have you broken anything else?"

"Hearts," she quipped quickly and added a wink with it.

He groaned and rolled his eyes. "Ren…"

"No, I haven't broken anything else, knock on wood. Lots of twisted ankles and sprained things, lots of bruises and cuts, I have a few scars, but no other broken bones."

"You're a tough woman."

"I'm a southern woman," she smiled.

"I thought you southern women were supposed to be proper little belles."

"If you want a proper little belle you have picked the wrong girl, my dear."

"No, I'm happy with my pick," he shook his head.

Ren dipped her head and tried to hide her smile; it was going to take a few days until she warmed herself up to hearing a comment like that from him. He had always had a habit of dropping little flirty quips at her but it felt different to her now.

He took her chin into his fingers, between his thumb and pointer finger, and lifted her head while pulling her closer so he could kiss her.

She smiled as he kissed her, moving to get closer to him, and welcomed the feeling of his hand tangling in her hair. With little effort he rolled them over, supporting himself over her. She could feel just enough of his body weight on her that it sparked a rush of butterflies and desire in her.

She was thankful that there was still a blanket between them. She was thankful there wasn't more skin on skin contact aside from his lips on hers and the light feeling of his fingertips on her face. This she could resist; she could stop herself.

But lord, he was hard to resist.

They were both lost in it, making up for the lost time between their first meeting and now.

Ren wasn't sure how much time passed; he trailed kisses down her neck and back to her lips, she bit down gently on his bottom lip.

Then the alarm on his phone started sounding from the night stand next to his side of the bed.

"Fucking…ugh…" he grumbled, breaking their kiss and hanging his head with a heavy sigh. "Always the fucking alarm."

Ren chuckled underneath him and smiled softly. She patted his face. "The alarm might be a good thing…"

He smirked and kissed her again, quick and sweet, and then rolled away to silence the alarm. He turned his head and looked at her, "you ready for day two of this?"

"So ready."

The late night and early morning had caught up with Ren rather quickly once they got on the road and it had only taken a few minutes before she had fallen asleep. Seth had gently woken her up about an hour later. He had smiled warmly at her sleepy and confused look. He had stopped at Starbucks and wanted to know if she wanted anything.

She took the few minutes he was inside to check her phone and flip down the sun visor to give herself a once over. She had pulled on a Predators baseball cap with her t-shirt and long yoga pants that morning. She didn't see the need to put in too much effort when her next five hours were going to be spent in a car and Seth had just spent the night next to her. Anything a full face of makeup and curls were going to hide had been exposed. She would worry about her presentability once they made it to the next hotel.

Amber and Shelby were both dying for details about their night. Ren was going to ignore them for now.

He returned to the car and handed over her drink as he settled in to the driver's seat. She immediately took a sip of it and sighed, closing her eyes, at the hot drink.

"I swear I can already feel the caffeine in my veins," she said.

"There's like fifty shots of espresso in that so I wouldn't be surprised. I never thought I would find someone that was more into coffee than me."

"I'm sorry I fell asleep on you like two minutes into this drive," she frowned.

"It's fine. I know you didn't sleep great. I'm used to these drives; I can entertain myself."

"Do you talk to yourself?"

"I have before. I mostly just listen to music. Or lately I'll talk to you if it's before my curfew," he gave her a warm smile. "Am I ever going to get that lifted?"

"I'm thinking about it."

They settled into a shared silence; Ren waiting for her coffee to kick in and perk her up so she could actually talk to Seth and him navigating them back to the interstate.

"You know I don't _like_ having to end our conversations and say goodnight," she stated out of the silence.

"I know. You have to get up at six, though, and I'm not gonna be selfish and make your day at work difficult. I've adjusted."

"What did your last girlfriend do? Was she part of all of this?"

"No," he shook his head, "She's a stylist; hair and makeup. She hated all of this."

"Really?"

He sighed, "yeah, it just…wasn't her thing. We met before I had any kind of success, I was wrestling in back yards and gas stations so getting here was a long a road and she didn't really care for the 'here'. It took too much of my time, I was gone too much, it changed me; she didn't understand my love for it…it was- it was a big point of contention between us. I'm not going to say I was totally innocent, I wasn't, but it was what it was. She didn't know how to love Seth _and_ Colby- she just wanted Colby."

"Are you friends?"

"Yeah we're cordial but I don't think I would call us friends. She still lives in Davenport, she has a new guy, she's happy. We share Kevin; she takes care of him when I'm on the road."

Ren nodded and sipped her coffee.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing," she gave him a small smile, "that was just, uh, the first 'skeletons in the closet' moment we've had. We have officially reached that point."

He glanced at her and chuckled, "the look on your face."

"Jealousy," she shrugged, "I can't help it."

He reached over and took her hand and squeezed it lightly before lifting it and kissing her knuckles. "I like your honesty."

"I've always made it a point to try and be honest with you."

"So have I, and there's nothing to be jealous of, I promise you that. You're here in this car with me right now for a reason." He looked over at her, as well as he could since he was driving, and she graced him with another small smile.

"I know I am."

"What's on your plate when you get home? Any big events?"

Katherine relaxed a little at his quick change of topic. "The usual; work and my show on Thursday. This weekend and next weekend I'm working at the Ryman."

"Doing what?"

"Photography for their shows; I freelance for them sometimes for big shows. They don't have someone in-house right now and I took some pictures at a show earlier this year and the manager stumbled upon them by chance on Facebook and emailed me because she loved them. It's a nice little extra paycheck and I get to see a concert and work at the same time."

"Anyone good?"

"That's a loaded question since our tastes in music don't necessarily mesh all the time. A few months ago I got to shoot the Black Keys, though. That was kind of nifty."

"I'd like to come down there soon," he said, glancing at her again.

She smiled, "I'd like for to come down soon. I'm guessing you have an idea of when since you're bringing it up."

"Am I that transparent?"

She shrugged, "I think I'm just starting to figure you out."

"Our next pay per view is the 13th and I would have RAW and Smackdown after that but I was thinking that week. It would be kind of an early Christmas…I can try and get time off from the house shows that weekend."

"You…don't have to do that. That's _your_ work; I don't want to take you away from that."

"I want to; if you can pencil me into your schedule."

She cut a look at him and scowled, "I will always fit you into my schedule. I'm not that busy."

"Lies already," he teased her.

"I would love for you to come that week; if it's through the weekend or even just the couple of days, either one are better than nothing. That Saturday is a work thing, though. We're going to the Preds game but you would be more than welcome. All the girls can tell you how amazing you are because you send me flowers."

"There will be many more flowers in your future."

"I'm not going to complain about that." She pulled her phone out of the cup holder and opened her calendar app. "So that's two weeks. That's not awful."

"You think you can be away from me for two weeks now that you've spent time with me?" he grinned, cutting his eyes at her.

She laughed lightly, "I mean it won't be fun but I'll keep myself busy."

"It'll fly by," he replied and then nodded at her and pointed to his cheek, "lean over here and kiss me."

She gave him a slightly shy smile and then leaned across the console and kissed his cheek quickly.

"Thank you, now here, Miss Ren Bolt Radio…get your DJ on…" he fished his phone from where it was tucked under his leg in the seat. "We have four more hours; make it good. I don't usually let people DJ so this is a big honor…"

"Best of Garth Brooks, coming right up!" she grinned.


	10. In My Head

**Happy Thursday! Happy reading! My dearest Amnbama- I hope you are healing up and feeling better!**

 **Thank you for the follows and favorites and the PMs! I'm always around to chat or answer any questions! And always always thank you for the reviews!**

* * *

 **Chapter 10: In My Head  
**

Katherine walked towards her office in a determined fashion. Eyes ahead, head up, two Venti peppermint mochas from Starbucks balanced in one hand and a bag with two chocolate chip scones in the other.

She smiled when she got close to the door and Shelby looked her direction. Her red headed friend's eyes widened with surprise and her mouth dropped slightly.

"Happy hump day, Shelbs," Ren said, holding the hand with the drinks towards her. "I come bearing gifts."

"What are you doing here?" Shelby asked as she stood. She took the drink from her friend and then hugged her. "Didn't your flight _just_ get in? I figured you would just chill at home today, do some recovery!"

"I considered it," Ren sighed and held the bag up for Shelby. Shelby took it from her and Ren moved to her desk chair. "I'm plum tuckered but…I needed to come to the office today."

"Katherine, I know you're a media goddess but we could've functioned without you. You should be napping and…relaxing. Google that word if it's foreign to you."

"Ha ha," Ren dryly responded to her friend. "I'm not a narcissist. I'm fully aware that this whole place could function without me. I _needed_ to come in today, though. If I went home I would just end up moping on my couch, eating Cheetos and watching shit day time TV."

"If you're trying to bad mouth Maury and Judge Judy I'm going to have to kindly ask you to vacate this office."

"Just eat your damn scone," Ren laughed.

"Thank you for these," Shelby smiled.

Ren nodded and inhaled deeply and surveyed her desk as Shelby opened the bag and peeked inside it. Ren had been back on Tennessee soil for maybe an hour. She had swung by her house after landing and trekking to the long term parking lot, changed into some fresh clothes, dry shampooed her hair and then headed downtown to the arena and her office.

"So what's…?" Shelby had to pause to chew and swallow her bite of scone. Ren gave her a questioning look. "What's up? I thought things were great and dreamy with the boy? Why are we moping?"

Ren bit her lip and sat back in her chair as she turned it towards Shelby.

"Fuck, the sex was bad wasn't it?"

"No."

"It was good?" Shelby exclaimed. "You slut."

"We didn't have sex, Shelby. Jesus…and things were- are- great and dreamy with the boy. That's why I need to be here doing things and being busy. Having to say goodbye to him at the airport and send him home to Iowa was complete shit."

Shelby frowned at her friend. "Rennie…"

"Ugh, this is the shit I never bothered to stop and think about. You go on a date with someone and if you really like them you can just call them up the next day and say 'let's get lunch' and boom there they are. You can stop by your boyfriend's work or spend the night or have breakfast- any time you want. Not when they live 543 miles away. You spend three days with someone and you really like him and you can call him up and say 'let's get lunch' and you can get lunch but it'll be in two weeks." Ren had her elbow propped on her crossed legs and she let her head drop into her hand, her hair falling around her. "I have so many feelings, Shelby, and I don't know what to do but I'm sad."

"I'm sorry, Ren. I know it has to suck."

Ren made a disgruntled noise from behind her shroud of hair.

"Okay," Shelby said firmly. She sat her cup of coffee down and rested her hands on her legs. "I'm clocking out of here and we're going to get something stronger than coffee. It's almost eleven; somebody will be serving brunch somewhere which means mimosas. Or some whiskey on the rocks; whatever is going to help."

Ren raised her head and looked at her friend. "I just became 'that girl' didn't I?"

"Bitching about having a sexy as hell boyfriend? Yes, you did. But I still love you."

"I'm sorry…I'm tired and I'm PMSing and once I landed here it all just kind of crashed down on me. I…I'm sorry."

"No wonder you didn't bang him," Shelby winked. Ren rolled her eyes at her friend. "I'm going to let this slide, this one time, because this is all new but after this you're gonna have to put your big girl panties on and handle it."

"Fair enough," Ren smiled, "thank you."

"Now come on, let's get out of here before you get sucked into actual work."

Ren sighed and stood from her chair without any further hesitation and followed Shelby through their office door. She mentally realized she had left her Starbucks behind on her desk, frowned, and briefly contemplated turning back to retrieve it. She hated to leave it behind.

"Katherine?" the make voice sounded from behind her and interrupted her Starbucks musings.

Shelby stopped walking in front of her and they both turned at the same time. "I'm just here for like five minutes, Jon, I needed to grab something for tomorrow. I'm still on vacation."

"What's your excuse?" he nodded at Shelby.

"Lunch break," Shelby replied.

"Hmm, ok, but Ren come with me for a minute," he said, not bothering to wait for any response from her, he turned on his heel and started striding for his office at the end of the hallway.

Katherine groaned and looked up at the ceiling. "Why? Why did he have to see me?" she muttered to herself and quickly followed after him.

"Seriously, Jonathan, I'm just here for a few minutes," Ren started as soon as she crossed the threshold to his office. She leaned against the back of one of the chairs that sat in front of his desk. "God you really do have nice furniture in here. In case I haven't mentioned that lately."

"I'm not trying to get you to do any work, I just wanted to ask about your trip and I figured I shouldn't do that in front of the whole office floor," he replied, giving her an amused look. "And thank you, that's a perk of being the person in charge. I get nice things."

"Yeah, and I had to bring my own lamp from home," she mumbled and then sighed. "What about my trip? I went and I'm back and I'll be here bright eyed and bushy tailed tomorrow morning to get back to my job."

"What about the guy?"

"What about him?"

She and Jonathan faced off across his desk for a few moments. Both of them had equal looks of annoyance on their faces.

Ren finally sighed loudly, "don't you and Kent gossip? You two are attached at the hip…I figured you would know this already know everything about him and us. He is a good guy, he's really sweet and I really like him and this is super awkward to be talking about right now."

"Do we get to meet him sometime soon?"

"Hopefully," she shrugged. "Right now the plan is for him to be here in a couple of weeks. He'll be at the hockey game with all of us; bless his heart. You and my brother can interrogate him then but it would be nice if you didn't and you could just act like the wonderful gentlemen that you are."

"We're just looking out for you; that's what we do. I just…want you to be careful, especially under the circumstances; long distance, he's an athlete…"

"Moments like this I regret that I agreed to come work for you," Ren countered, frowning at him.

"Do you really want to get into the specifics of that right now?"

"No, I do not," she stood up straight and gave him a serious look. "I appreciate the whole 'big brother' concern or whatever but I got this. Just be my boss, ok? Let Kent handle the other stuff and you just be sure I do my job."

He blinked a couple times. She could see his jaw tighten and he took a pause before he responded to her. "Go to lunch. I'll see you in the morning."

"Thank you." Ren bowed her head in a goodbye and quickly exited the room.

Shelby was standing next to the corner of the hallway, leaning against the wall and focused on her phone. She looked up at Ren's footsteps and Ren gave her an exasperated look. "I need to find a new job…"

"Take me with you if you find one," Shelby muttered and fell in step with her friend.

The girls had made their way to the Tin Roof near Music Row. They knew it wouldn't be particularly crowded on a Wednesday afternoon, even with it being lunch, and they knew it had a decent brunch menu and drink selection. That was all they needed; good food and a good drink.

Katherine had been pleasantly surprised when Amber had appeared in the doorway to the bar/restaurant and spotted them across the room.

"I called in reinforcements," Shelby smiled.

"Hi you, I can't believe I missed you at the house," Amber said, leaning down to hug Ren before she took a seat next to Shelby.

"I was in and out pretty quickly," Ren shrugged.

"I had Cash out at the park since it was kind of warm today. You didn't even text me," Amber shot her roommate a small glare.

"Ren was having a crisis," Shelby stated.

"I'm not having a crisis; I just had a small moment. I'm fine."

"A boy crisis?" Amber asked. All three girls looked up at the waitress when she stepped up to their table and took Amber's drink order and asked if they were going to order any food. It was a familiar place, they didn't really need to look over the menus, but they asked for a few more moments to decide anyways. Amber shimmied out of her jacket as the waitress walked away. "You've seemed perfectly happy the last couple of days. I'm still disappointed you haven't reported back to me about his abs yet, though….but what happened?"

"She caught feelings…" Shelby interjected.

"Don't make it sound like I need a strong dose of antibiotics or anything," Ren frowned at her friend.

"You might!"

Amber nudged Shelby and tried to hold back her own laugh. "Did you get any pics with him? Please tell me you did."

Ren unlocked her phone and slid it over to her two friends.

"It was great. He is great. He's wonderful," Ren said; a wistful smile forming on her lips as her two friends looked at her pictures from her days with Seth and the rest of the WWE crew. "It was very normal and natural like that wasn't the first time we had spent more than two hours together. He's…he's great. I don't know I can't find another word to use…"

"You two are super cute together," Amber said.

"It's very hard to get him to smile for pictures," Ren said. She accepted her phone back and looked at her two friends who were giving her looks like they were waiting for her to continue. "Oh you want me to keep talking?"

Shelby rolled her eyes and threw the small cardboard coaster sitting in front of her at her friend.

"We're waiting to hear the problem, bitch!"

"I don't know…I was great up until we said goodbye this morning. His flight left before mine so he kissed me goodbye and told me he would let me know when he was home and disappeared onto his plane and then I had 45 minutes to kill in the airport."

"And you got in your head," Amber sighed. "I knew this was coming."

"That's what I do!" Ren defended. "I'm programmed to over think and be in my head!"

"You programmed yourself to over think, Katherine. There is nothing to over think. I guarantee you he probably sat on his flight home just as sad as you were."

"I concur," Shelby added.

"He did tell me he missed me already…"

"See! You gotta stop this…" Amber responded.

The waitress brought their drinks and took their food orders. The three girls took the moment to let a silence fall over them for a minute. Ren watched the people pass by on the street outside and randomly thought about how empty downtown is during the winter, at least during the day. She looked back at Shelby and Amber and sighed.

"I just feel like now I have to sit back and wait for the other shoe to drop."

"It won't," Shelby said. She lowered her head slightly, making sure to catch Ren's eyes and have her focus on her. "A few days ago you were fighting me when I was asking questions, go back to that."

"I really like him and that scares me a little in hindsight. I can't help but think-"

"Don't," Amber interrupted her. "As your best friend I know you're about to say something about he who we do not talk about and I'm telling you don't. Seth is not him; nobody is him. So give it a chance."

"And in the mean time you have us and Jack Daniels to keep you warm until you see him again."

"He's going to try to get a free weekend from shows and come down here in two weeks- the weekend before Christmas."

"Is he bringing single friends?" Shelby grinned.

"Shelby, I swear you are worse than a cat in heat," Amber looked at her.

"To be fair, Amber you have no room to talk about her seeing as how there is a _diamond_ on your finger and all you want to know is how cut his abs are in person," Ren told her friend.

"Ha!" Shelby turned to Amber.

"Shut up."

Admittedly, after the first few hours of being home in Nashville, Ren's melancholy had started to fade. Maybe it was just the PMS; maybe it was the couple of beers she had shared with Amber and Shelby; maybe it was the nap with her dog and long run, but it wasn't bad as she had psyched herself up for it to be. She would have gladly traded the phone calls and texts for being in the car and hotel room and holding his hand, oh and his kisses, but it was better than nothing.

Work had kept her busy, as well, and Thursday night she had 'kidnapped' her niece for an impromptu girl's night of ice cream and Christmas shopping.

It was Friday evening and she was sitting in her office, alone, her lamp in the corner providing a light glow in the small room. Her phone started to ring on her desk next to her hand that was resting on her mouse and her eyes darted to it.

Seth was Face Timing her.

She answered the call and propped her phone up against her large, flat computer screen.

"Hello boyfriend," she smiled.

"Hi beautiful," he replied. Ren couldn't help but smile at the fact he wasn't fully focusing on the screen; he had his eyes focused ahead of him and he was throwing glances at her. In fact she was getting an almost profile view of him. "What are you doing? Are you still at work?"

He squinted at the screen.

"Yeah I'm still here."

"Alone?"

"Jonathan is still hanging around and 17,000 people are making their way in for the hockey game tonight so I'm not completely alone. I have to go across the street to the Ryman in a little bit and I knew it was pointless to fight traffic to go home just to turn around and come back. I snuck downstairs to the barbecue concession stand and got some nachos."

"That's my girl."

Ren chuckled lightly. "What are _you_ doing? Did you Face Time me just so I could watch you play a video game?"

"No, I'm saving it, I promise. I Face Timed you because I missed your smile. I'm waiting for the madré to get here. I'm taking her to dinner. Her birthday is on Sunday but since I won't be here, she and I are celebrating tonight."

"You look nice," Ren replied sweetly.

He did look nice; what she could see. His hair was pulled back tightly in a low knot and he was wearing a dark v-neck shirt.

He turned his eyes on her and she could tell he was sitting the controller down. He leaned forward and rested his arms on his legs after he reached out to readjust how his computer was sitting.

"Thank you, I figured I could clean up a little bit for my mom."

"Are you going somewhere fancy?"

"No, I tried. I try to treat her as much as she'll let me but she just wants margaritas."

"My kind of woman," Ren grinned. "You know we have Margaritaville here, it's like just across the street from the arena, and they have a margarita that has a shot of Jack on top of it."

"Please don't tell her that," he gave her a curious look through the screen. "Baby, what are you listening to?"

"Oh! Um…that is Debussy; La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin."

Seth blinked a few times and gave her a blank look.

"I have a tendency to listen to classical stuff when I work late…sometimes. It helps me focus. My mom was a pianist; she instilled it in us…" Ren cleared her throat lightly and shrugged. She nervously tucked some of her hair behind her ear and glanced down at her desk.

"I keep learning new things about you," he smiled, "do you play?"

"I do a little bit. I'm not anywhere as close to as good as she is but I can manage."

"Will you play for me? Do you have a piano at home?"

"I do; I will. I'll have to practice."

"My little nerd."

Ren rolled her eyes and made a face at him. "Says the guy who carries around a gold briefcase with him everywhere he goes."

"It's so embarrassing," he laughed lightly. "I hate it."

He dipped his head for a moment and scratched his beard before he looked at her again. "So I did have a real reason to call you, I have some news."

"Good or bad news? I can't read that look."

"I just got off the phone with Carano and I'm getting my weekend off."

"Really? It was just that easy?" she replied.

"I will probably have to make up for it somewhere down the road but yeah it was that easy. If you'll still have me…I'll go ahead and get tickets and figure shit out."

"I'll have to make sure that my other boyfriend isn't scheduled for something that weekend but I think it'll be fine," she quipped, grinning at the look he leveled at her.

"You aren't funny at all." His eyes darted away again for a second and then back to her, "my mom is here."

"Is she coming in?"

"Probably…"

"Let me say hi to her!"

"Katherine."

"I'm serious! Let me say hello and wish her a happy birthday."

"I didn't exactly want for you to meet my mom for the first time via Face Time."

"Well…it's a modern age, babe, you gotta get with the times," she smiled. There was a teasing glint in her eyes and she could tell by the look on his face that he was about to give in to her.

"Fine," he said.

Ren smiled again and sat up in her chair as she watched him disappear to, she assumed, open his door to let his mom inside. She could somewhat hear them greet each other and she could hear Kevin's high pitched bark and then she heard Seth tell Holly that she wanted to say hello to her. Ren laughed quietly to herself when she heard a somewhat surprised reaction from Holly.

She sat down on the couch where Seth had been sitting just a moment before and greeted Katherine with a warm, genuine smile.

Katherine returned the smile and waved at her, "Hi! It's good to kind of meet you!"

Holly laughed warmly. Katherine could see traces of Seth in her and it warmed her heart a little bit. "I never thought that I would be meeting my son's girl friend through a computer but I'm always up for something new. So this is Katherine."

"This is me. He was just telling me that your birthday is on Sunday so I just wanted to say hello and wish you a happy birthday. Make sure he treats you like an absolute queen tonight."

"He always does, and thank you, that was very sweet of you. I'm sorry I interrupted your conversation…"

"Do not apologize; I have to go do some work anyways and him having margaritas with you is far more important."

"Well I hope you have a good night and you don't work too hard, and thank you again for the happy birthday wishes."

Seth sat down on the couch next to his mom, appearing back on the screen with her. Katherine had no idea where he had disappeared to for the few moments; she imagined he was doing something with Kevin. She caught his gaze and smiled at him.

"You're very welcome. You two have a good night! Have an extra margarita for me."

"I will," Holly laughed.

"I will call you later," Seth jumped in. "Be careful."

"Always," Ren replied enthusiastically. She blew him a kiss and winked at him before she reached for her phone to end the call.

Holly was giving her son an amused but sweet look as he closed the lid to his laptop. He looked at her and just offered her a shrug and a smile.

"So that was your girl?"

"That was her…"

"She's very sweet; very bright. I like her."

"I'm glad, I do too. But I do not want to talk about my relationship right now. We're celebrating you…you can do this whole mom mode thing later once you get a little liquored up."

"You be sure you treat her like a queen, too," Holly said, "that's the last thing I'm saying right now."

Seth smiled, "I will."


	11. Here and Present

**An update! Just a head's up that it may about a week before I get the next update up. I've had a lot of stuff going on my life this past weekish and I am super stressed out AND this Sunday is my birthday...but I will back after that!**

 **Thank you as always for the follows and favorites and all of the support & reviews! You guys rock my world!**

 **Happy reading!**

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Here and Present**

It was Katherine's turn to wait impatiently at an airport. Luckily she had a full day of work behind her that had kept her mostly occupied so that her nerves and anxiety hadn't gotten the best of her. The night before had been a different story; she had turned her nerves into cleaning, though, so at least her house was pretty much spotless. Seth had text when he was boarding his flight, late that afternoon, and Ren had wrapped up her work for the night to head to Nashville International and pick him up.

She partially wished that she had gotten enough time to run home before she went to pick him up. There had been an ownership meeting that day and she was dressed quite a bit nicer than she would normally be for work. She felt a bit silly; a bit too extra. It was what it was, though. He would probably get a kick out of it.

She was pacing in the arrivals area, watching the groups of passengers file in from their various destinations. Her heels were making a soft thud on the thinly carpeted floor as she walked. She had one arm crossed across her and she was holding her cell phone near her mouth with the other hand. She was waiting for the "I've landed" or "headed to baggage claim" or a simple "hello" text from Seth. His flight should have landed by now.

Of course the arrivals and departures board wasn't working properly.

She frowned and sighed heavily.

Seth hadn't told her he had landed. He had every intention of surprising her, just because he wanted to see her bright, excited smile when she saw him. He had been in the airport in Nashville a few times and he knew it well enough to know she would be waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs in the baggage claim. He just hoped he got another chance like he had in St. Louis where he spotted her before she spotted him.

He got his wish. She wasn't even looking at the stairs once he reached them and she had been easy for him to spot since the airport wasn't too crowded. He stopped in his tracks for a moment and sucked in a quick breath; he hadn't seen her 'dressed up' yet. She had on a dark, burgundy, pencil skirt that didn't leave very much that hugged her hips and legs and a grey, sweater material, short sleeved and high necked top that was tight and tucked under the high waist of the skirt. She had her legs crossed as she stood, balancing on black, pointy toed heels that strapped around her ankles, and her hair was falling around her shoulders in the waves he was used to seeing.

She looked in his direction as he reached the bottom of the staircase and her eyes met his. There it was; the smile he had wanted to see. She crossed over to him and much like their first air port meeting she quickly wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug.

"You were supposed to tell me you were here…I was starting to get worried…" she said as she hugged him.

He snaked his arms around her waist and pulled her close and tight, returning her hug. He could feel her fingers against the back of his neck and slipping into his hair and he took a quick moment to just hug her, feel her, and inhale the lingering sweetness of her perfume.

"I know, I just wanted to see that look on your face," he replied finally.

She stepped back and frowned at him slightly, "I would have been happy to see you anyways."

"I like surprises," he smiled. He reached up to brush her cheek with his fingers, letting them trail through her hair slightly and then he dipped his head, kissing her gently. He lingered close to her lips and smiled again, "I missed you."

"I'm a very missable person…" she replied cheekily.

"You're difficult, too," he countered.

"OH! Oh yeah, I missed you, too, whatever…" she shrugged and gave him a playful smile and a wink.

"Rude," he muttered.

She gave him a warm smile this time and stepped closer to him, wrapping her arms back around his neck. She leaned up to kiss him and scratched his beard as she pulled away, "I did miss you and I'm very glad that you're _here_. You're on my turf and I get you all to myself for four days."

"That's better." He inhaled deeply and stepped away, breaking their contact, "so is this what you wear to work every day? Because I'm thinking I may need to rethink my career choice…you stopped me in my tracks up there."

Ren could feel her cheeks blush slightly and she looked down, biting back a smile. "I do not wear this to work every day…we had that meeting with our owners today and I always try to get a little fancy for it. Usually I'm a little more casual."

"So this wasn't for me?"

"No," she smirked.

"Ok, well can you at least wear a skirt like that every time you pick me up at the airport?"

"Stop it," she chuckled and swatted at him, lightly grazing his stomach. "I planned to go home and change."

"I'm glad you didn't."

There was a playful spark in his eyes and she shook her head at him, "come on let's get your bags."

"Lead the way…"

She cut a look at him, "you just want to walk behind me so you can look at my ass."

"Absolutely…lead the way."

She scoffed at him and reached for his hand, tugging him along with her, side by side. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pressed a kiss to her head as they walked. She was happy, he was happy; they were both happy. As much as she liked to joke with him and tease him, getting her fair share of it in return from him, she really did miss him. Hearing his voice over the phone or seeing him on face time was nice, and it was 'enough' for now, but actually having him there was what she wanted most. She wanted the closeness and his presence, she wanted to feel him. She didn't need to question if he felt the same way; she could tell. He had a smile permanently displayed on his face the whole time they were in the airport and on their way to her home.

The drive from the airport to Ren's house had been relaxed and comfortable. Seth had settled in to the passenger's seat of her Altima, clad in his backwards hat and black glasses, and immediately changed the radio station as soon as the car started and Blake Shelton's voice had flowed through the speakers. She had turned a teasing smile on him and he simply shrugged, eyebrows raised and winked at her before reaching over to slip his hand in to hers.

The conversation had been light and playful; mostly him filling her in about his wrestling school and what he was missing that weekend. Once they had gotten off the interstates and closer to her house she had started to point things out to him.

"Aye, Crossfit," he grinned as they were stopped at a red light, "is that the one you told me about?"

"Yeah, that's going to be your best bet unless you just feel like adventuring in the city. Home is literally 5 more minutes away." She released his hand and pointed out her window, "Over here, across the street, this is a little German bakery; best coffee and incredibly unhealthy pastries in the whole city…fact."

"Well I know where I'll be going after my work out," he commented, leaning down to look through her window. "I like it here…"

She smiled brightly and glanced over at him, catching his gaze in the darkness of the car, "I'm glad you do."

"I feel like this is obvious but you have plans to feed me, right? Because I'm starving…"

Katherine chuckled and nodded, adding a slight eye roll, "yes, I'm going to feed you. Tyler is doing steak. He and Amber both have to work later tonight…"

"I don't care if they're home, it's their house, too," he smiled. "I can share you when I have to. I get you all to myself when it's important."

She bit her lip in the dark. She was glad he couldn't see her blush. Her stomach did a slight flip flop when his hand slipped back into her hand that had been resting on her gear shift.

That had happened, too. They had always had a flirty rapport with each other; they had always dropped little one liners, but since their time together for his shows and their decision to make this a relationship, there had been a heightened tension between them. He was fine with taking it slow, and Ren wanted to take things slow, she wanted to be sure the feelings were real and not just a fleeting thing before she just mounted him and climbed in to bed with, but the desire was there. He was a bit more forthcoming with his hints at it.

She inhaled deeply before making the turn into her driveway. Tyler's truck and Amber's car were both in their usual spots. Seth leaned up to look out of the windshield and take in Ren's house. It was two stories and it was old; a brick, four square style house with a front porch that had at least two columns from what he could make out in the dark.

"This is home," she said.

"I like it…it suits you…"

"Amber and Tyler might fan boy and fan girl over you so just be prepared for that. More so Ty than Amber."

"I brought them presents so I think it'll be okay."

She tilted her head slightly at the mention of presents. "What kind of presents?"

"WWE merch that you can't buy, some belts…" he shrugged, "I'm not above bribing my girlfriend's friends so they'll approve of me."

"Did you get me a present?"

"I'm sitting here, aren't I?"

She rolled her eyes and turned the keys in her ignition and shut the car off. He chuckled lightly and reached for her, taking her chin between his fingers to pull her closer to him, across the arm rest, and kissed her. It was a kiss laced with heat and she felt a whole new surge of feelings flow through her body. Surprisingly enough, it calmed her too.

"I did bring you a present," he said when they ended their kiss. "You get that later."

"You ready to meet my people?"

"Let's do this."

Katherine led him through the front door and they were immediately greeted by an excited Cash. Seth squatted to pet him and scratch his head, talking to him quietly. Ren smiled as she watched him and then smiled brighter when Amber appeared in the entry way from the kitchen to the living room.

"Hi!" Amber said excitedly.

Seth stood and smiled, "Amber, I'm guessing?"

"That's me," she said, crossing over to greet him, "and I know who you are."

He chuckled, Ren couldn't tell if it was amusement or nerves and then he smiled softly, "well here I don't want to be 'Seth', so call me Colby, please."

"Absolutely," Amber said warmly. "Well welcome to Nashville and our home. Tyler is outside working his magic."

"I'm going to show him around and then we'll join you," Ren said. Amber nodded and turned on her heel to retreat back in to the kitchen. Seth looked at Ren and Ren smiled at him, reaching for his hand, "come on you, I'll give you the dime tour."

Dinner and introducing Seth to Tyler had gone swimmingly. Ren was letting her mind play over it as she searched her closet for what she was going to sleep in that night, post shower. Thankfully, Tyler and Amber had handled themselves like adults and Seth had clicked with them pretty quickly. She had enjoyed watching and listening to him and Tyler talk football.

They had eaten and Amber and Tyler had gone their respective ways to work for the night and left Seth and Ren alone. Ren had let him get settled more than he had the time for before they ate, and they had just relaxed; enjoying each other's company on the couch with whatever TV station they settled on.

She had been watching the clock and had finally pulled herself away from him for a little bit to shower and prepare whatever she needed to do for the next morning. She was wishing in her head that she had been able to take both days off of work so she could have all the time she could get with him.

Seth was still on the couch, his feet propped up on the coffee table and the cat curled up in his lap. He looked back at Ren as she came down the hallway and into the living room and smiled at her.

She crossed behind him and leaned down to kiss him as he looked back at her.

"Welcome back," he said.

"Thank you. Did you snoop around while I was in there?"

"What makes you think that I would _snoop_ around your house?" he asked, feigning offense at her question.

She smirked at him and then turned towards the kitchen as she talked. She needed to feed the cat and the dog before she and Seth went to sleep.

"I would snoop, if I'm being honest, so I just kind of assume that everyone else would."

Seth could hear the dry cat food hitting the food bowl in the kitchen and he chuckled at the cat's quick reaction, jumping down from his lap and scurrying across the hardwood floors.

"Well I didn't snoop, per say. I did check out the book case and all the records you guys have in here, but that's it. Lots of Beatles and Aerosmith…lots of poetry…"

"Those are mine," she smiled, entering the living room again. She rounded the couch and laughed lightly as Seth grabbed her hand and pulled her down to sit with him. She snuggled in to little bit of room she had between him and the arm of the couch and happily draped her legs over his lap. "Well, hi."

"Hi," he smiled.

She leaned over to kiss him deeply, resting one of her hands on the side of his face as his hands rested on her legs. She hadn't been able to get enough of his kisses since he had walked through the door with her. She kept her hand on his face, rubbing his beard, when they broke their kiss.

"I'm so happy you're down here," she said sweetly. "I have been missing you."

"I'm happy to be down here. I know it's only been a few hours but it's been great. And if I'm always going to be fed like that I'm coming here every damn week." Ren laughed lightly at his quip. "Does it feel weird having me here?"

She pursed her lips together, thinking before she answered. "I wouldn't say it feels _weird_ it's just different. I'm used to being here alone or being out at a show or something with Shelby right now, or babysitting Lilly; but it's a good different. You don't really throw off my space, you fit in here."

He was lightly grazing his thumb across her leg as she answered and she found herself getting lost in his dark eyes for a moment when he looked over at her. She could feel a small smile form on her lips and she cast her eyes down for a quick second. He was very close to causing goose bumps to start to form all over her body. His touch was so slight and so comforting.

Ren had changed in to a pair of purple running shorts and a Jack Daniel's t-shirt after her shower and her stomach flipped when he ran his hand up her leg and watched as he trailed his fingers across the tattoo on her left thigh. It was black ink, a quote in a typewriter style font.

"So what's the story behind this one?" he asked, lifting his eyes to her.

Katherine had been ready to run down every tattoo she had, and the ones she still wanted to get, when Seth had started asking her questions about them. He had shut her down, though, and told her he wanted to discover them all for himself. It was own little game but she didn't really mind it.

Ren glanced down at the quote: Drink from the well of yourself and begin again.

She sighed quietly and gave him a small, almost sad, smile. "I went through a really rough patch a few years ago. Right when I moved back down here. I clung to a lot of Charles Bukowski poetry and that line always spoke to me; cry not for me, grieve not for me, read what I've written then forget it all, drink from the well of yourself and begin again."

"Was it because of your aunt? When she died?"

"That was part of it," Ren nodded. He tilted his head slightly, studying her, and she scrunched up her nose and shifted slightly under his scrutiny. "I don't know if…I…" she paused, trying to decide what she was going to use as her protest.

"Talk to me, Ren."

"I got my heart broken, pretty badly."

"Ah, skeletons in the closet," he said, nodding. She bit her lower lip and shrugged as a response to him. "What happened?"

"We just weren't meant to be, although at the time I didn't know that, I was so certain that he was it and I had my life planned out; I was finishing school, I was fucking grown up, I was out on my own, I had _it…so_ it pretty much crushed me. He said he just wasn't in love with me anymore, that 'we' just wasn't what he felt like he really wanted, and it came out of nowhere; for me, at least. We lived together in Chicago, I moved there with him for his job, so I finished my 3 weeks of school I had left; I lived in a hotel, and I came home- here. Jonathan kind of…created a job for me, so I would have a job. Then my aunt died. So I got a little sad and dark for awhile, that whole 'searching for yourself' thing. But I figured shit out and I started over and…here I am."

Seth was giving her a quiet look and she could see him nod slightly, "I know what it's like to have someone tell you that they aren't in love with you anymore."

"I know you do," she said sweetly.

"My dark and sad can relate to your dark and sad."

"Maybe that's why I was drawn to talk to you in that bar. My skeletons wanted to be buddies with yours," she teased, smiling, trying to lighten up the moment of seriousness that had washed over them. He returned her smile and held his hand out for her hand.

"For what it's worth, I think the Katherine that you made yourself in to is pretty damn great."

"Oh, you do?" she teased.

"Yeah, I dig her. When you sat down in that bar and talked to me, I was already drawn to you. You're very unafraid to just be you and it was nice, and even when you came out to the shows, you were just open and you. You're smart and funny and you know exactly who you are and you just embrace things as they come and I really…like that about you. I really just like you."

She smiled warmly at him, "thank you."

"And I am nothing like that, so I guess that whole opposites attract thing isn't as much bullshit as I thought."

"You know who you are," she said. "And I know that TV you isn't the same as real life you, but some of that is in there. You're confident in the things you love and you know you're very good at those things. I just talk a lot more than you do; I don't know how to keep my mouth shut. Usually I'm having a minor panic attack in my head. And I dig you a lot."

"I think it's more important that _you_ know who I am. Like- _me_."

"You mean the 'Colby' you?" She asked.

"Yeah."

"I do and I still dig you."

"Well…that's just swell then."

Ren laughed and leaned up to kiss him; a brief, light kiss, followed by a few short pecks.

"I know you've given me a brief rundown of it but what are your plans for me this weekend?" he asked, settling back against the couch.

"Shit I have to entertain you?" her eyes widened. He narrowed his gaze at her and she chuckled. "Well tomorrow I have to work since I have the show but you are always more than welcome to come watch and come see the studios. I don't mind showing you off to everyone. You are also more than welcome to just hang out here with the animals and just relax."

"No I want to come up there; I want to see you do your thing."

"Well you don't have to get up with my at 6am; Amber can bring you or you can uber…I figured you're pretty familiar with getting around strange cities."

"Nashville isn't completely foreign to me."

"That night is kind of up in the air. We can go out, we can stay in, we can find a concert to go to…just some me and you time. Whatever you want to do."

"So I can take _you_ out?"

"I won't say no. Friday, if you're up for it, I took the day off and I wanted to give you an authentic Nashville tourist experience. Show you all the hot spots and some of the hole in the wall unknown spots and have _a lot_ of delicious food…and my parents wanted to have dinner with us that night; Kent and Lil, too."

"You're going to end up losing your job if you keep taking days off of work for me…"

"I have vacation days saved up and it helps to have a little bit of pull with the boss. I just wanted to be sure that you got a real Nashvegas experience and I wanted to take advantage of the time that we had. I don't…we don't know when…you know," she shrugged as she trailed off.

Seth lifted a hand to brush some of the short, loose strands of hair that didn't quite make it in to her messy bun away from her face and then he caressed her face, running his thumb along her jaw line and cheek.

"You can't get sad yet, I just got down here and before I leave we'll figure out the next move. Couple of weeks, you can come to Davenport or some shows, I'll come down here, it doesn't matter to me. We'll make it work."

"I know we will."

"Smile, baby."

She smiled and he nodded, "that's better."

He hooked his finger and motioned for her and she moved, bringing her legs in and shifting around on the couch so she could lean against him and settle onto his chest and savor the feeling of his arm around her.

"Saturday is hockey."

"Yes."

"And Sunday?"

"Sunday we lie in bed all day and order pizza and I figure out how to clone you so I don't have to put you on a plane on Monday and say goodbye."

Seth started to chuckle and Ren joined him before she covered her mouth and tried to stifle a yawn. She blinked rapidly a few times, clearing the tears from her yawn out of her eyes and then shifted to look up at him. "Sorry…"

"I'm thinking I probably need to go tuck you into bed and let you sleep since you have to be up so early."

"If you're planning to stay up for a bit I would rather stay in here with you," she countered, pouting slightly. "It's warm in here and the couch is comfortable and…you."

"So what you're saying is when I start to fall asleep I'm going to have to carry _you_ to bed also."

"No you were sleeping on the couch anyways."

He scowled at her, not amused, and glanced around for a moment, surveying the couch.  
"You think we can both fit if we lay down?" he posed the question to her.

"It's happened before…" Ren shrugged.

She got another playful scowl from him and they both quietly moved around, situating themselves on the couch so that Ren could stretch out and drift off at will but they could still cuddle and be close.

"I hope you were joking about that couch thing…" he finally said after a pause of silence between them.

"Totally serious," she muttered, muffled by how she was laying. She lifted her head and grinned at him and then kissed him playfully, covering his cheek with light pecks. "It was definitely a joke."


	12. Climb the Tree

**Sorry I was away so long but I am back and here is a new chapter! This one is a little bit longer than usual but I don't think that's a bad thing :) I hope you enjoy! Thank you so much for reading and for following/favoriting! It means the world to me!**

* * *

 **Chapter 12: Climb the Tree**

Katherine caught a glimpse of Seth in her peripheral vision as he stepped in to the doorway of her bathroom in her bedroom. She was trying to add the finishing touches to her lipstick, her last task of beauty prep before they headed out for the night of dinner and hockey and schmoozing with her co-workers. She cut her eyes at him, barely able to make out the bright gold of the Predators jersey she had gifted him with a little earlier.

"I am starting to enjoy the part of the day or night where I get to watch you get ready," he stated.

She cracked a small smile, "why?"

"I don't know I just enjoy it. You come get all glammed up and listen to your music…"

"Mhmm and usually there's a dance party that happens but I try to keep myself a little controlled around you."

"Oh please don't let me stop you from dancing…"

"I don't know that you're ready for that yet, babe," she teased. She turned her head to look at him. He was leaning against the door frame, wearing his dark jeans and the hockey jersey, his lasses on. He was giving her a sweet smile; an affectionate smile and she couldn't help but give him a smile to match his.

She turned her gaze back to the mirror and not even a few second passed before he was stepping in to the small space and slipping his arms around her waist. He brushed her hair off of her shoulder and kissed her neck gently before looking up and meeting her gaze in the mirror.

"You're beautiful," he said.

Ren could feel a slight warmth of butterflies flow over her body, pooling in her stomach. She reached up with one hand to pat his face and scratch his beard.

"You're pretty good looking yourself, Colby."

He smiled and kissed her cheek. "Close your eyes, I have something for you."

Her eye brows perked up slightly at his command and then she obliged, lightly closing her eyes and biting her bottom lip to hold back her smile.

"They better be _closed_ too, I'm not about this cheating and peaking stuff."

"They're closed I promise."

"Hold out your hand, it doesn't matter which one."

She held out her right hand, her dominant hand, and after a few quiet seconds passed she could feel him tug the sleeve of her jersey up a little and then the cool metal of something slipping on to her wrist and her eyes fluttered open to look down at the bracelet he had just hooked.

"Babe!" she said, smiling to herself as she turned her wrist over to look at the bracelet. It was several rows of small brass chains that were linked together with a teal, antique finished bird charm that perfectly matched the tattoo she had behind her left ear.

"Do you like it?" he asked.

"I _love_ it. It's beautiful. It's too perfect." She turned around in his arms, leaning against the kitchen counter now, to look at him. She held his head between her hands and smiled brightly, shaking her head, "you…"

"Me, what?" he questioned. She could catch a little spark of amusement in his eyes.

"I'm just so happy and lucky that I found you; I want you to know that. Having you here has been…" she paused, thinking over the word she wanted to use.

He didn't give her a chance to come up with a word. He just closed the space between them by dipping his head to kiss her. That was perfectly fine with Ren. She moved her hands to link them around his neck.

She could've stayed like that for the rest of the night. She didn't even need to go out, to see people, to take him to the game. She would have been perfectly happy to stay in his arms and have his kisses.

The universe had other plans. Cash's bark started resonating from the living room and they could both hear Shelby's voice greeting him. She was expected, they both knew she would be showing up any moment so they could all go to dinner together. Neither of them was ready for her to actually show up yet, though.

Ren gave Seth a slight pout and then smirked, using her thumb to wipe away the light traces of lipstick that had transferred to his lips.

"To be continued…" she said softly.

He nodded with his own small smirk on his face. "Absolutely to be continued."

Shelby shimmied her way in between Jonathan and Kent, who were both leaning against a pub table in the back of the suite at the Predators game, and leaned against it, mirroring them. She sat her wine down and glanced at both of them before letting her gaze fall ahead of her.

Katherine and Seth were seated comfortably in the front row of the suite. He had his arm draped loosely across the back of her seat, her feet were propped up on the wall in front of her, and he made a comment to her before he took a sip of his beer. Whatever he said made Ren laugh; it was a hearty laugh, her head falling back slightly and then she excitedly responded to him, her face glowing with a smile.

"What do you guys think?" Shelby asked.

"I'm a fan," Kent replied, "I met him last night and he seems like a good guy. Dad _loves_ him so he's at least in with all of us…"

"You were already a 'fan' of him, though," Jonathan commented, looking at his friend.

"I know how to separate the two things and _he_ seems like a good guy. Ren is really happy, too. I can't…dislike something that makes my little sister happy."

"She is happy," Shelby added. "I haven't seen her like this around a guy in awhile…"

"How long will it last, though?" Jonathan questioned.

Shelby and Kent both looked at him as he raised his jack and coke to his lips. He took a sip and sat the cup down and then looked at his two companions.

"What?"

"You don't like him?" Kent replied, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"He seems fine I guess I'm just not sold on him yet."

Shelby and Kent both quietly looked him. He shrugged and downed his last sip of his drink and then turned towards the bar.

Shelby looked at Kent.

"I don't know," Kent said, a bit confused, "he's in a bad mood."

"Uh huh…"

Shelby inhaled deeply and then picked up her cup and started back towards the front of the suite and her seat next to Seth and Ren. Seth was getting up from his seat as she was reaching the row.

"I'm guessing you don't need anything since you're coming from back there," he said, pausing in front of her on the steps.

"I'm good, thank you. Be careful back there, though…"

"Thank you for the warning."

Ren gave Shelby a questioning look as Seth continued up the stairs and Shelby returned to her seat.

"What's up?" Ren asked her friend.

"There's a lot of testosterone brewing back there."

"Which one? My brother? He does that when he drinks clear liquor…go cut him off."

"No, Hutton," Shelby sighed as she sat back in her seat and propped her feet up as well. "He's not a fan of your boy."

Ren rolled her eyes, "go cut him off, too. That's…fucking obnoxious. I don't need two brothers."

Shelby's eyes widened a bit and she bit her lower lip before she took a drink from her freshly replenished beer.

"What?" Ren asked.

"Nothing, I'm sure they're just feeling their alcohol…"

Ren cast a look over her shoulder and she caught Seth slipping through the door to the bar. "Should I go referee?"

"Nah it's not that bad. He's just moody. I think Romeo can handle it and Kent will intercede if he needs to."

Ren looked at Shelby for a second and then turned her attention back to the ice.

"You really like him," Shelby stated her eyes following the puck.

"Yeah, I do. Having him here and seeing him meet my family and you guys and be in my house and stuff, that kind of confirmed it for me. He's…I don't know, it just feels so good."

"You banged him yet?"

" _No_ Shelby, fuck…" Ren shook her head.

"Ma'am…if I had a man like that sleeping in my bed, I would've climbed him so fast; like a monkey in a tree after the ripest bunch of-"

"Shelby!" Ren said sternly, dropping her head into her hands and shaking her head while biting back laughter.

"I'm sorry but I just had to put that out there."

"I hate you," Ren said, looking at her friend, her eyes dancing with laughter.

Shelby shrugged, "climb the tree, Ren."

Ren inhaled deeply, wishing that Seth was already back with her drink. She leaned forward and rested her arms on her legs, watching the game unfold in front of them, and after a few minutes of silence she sat back in her seat again. She kept her eyes ahead of her, not looking at Shelby as she spoke. "Trust me that it's been tempting. There's a lot of tension and it's…hard to tap dance around it. And he's fine, he seems fine at least, and he's on board with it…he's behaved, we've both behaved. But it is so hard to stop myself sometimes…"

"Then why do you?"

"Because when I do sleep with him, that's going to make all of this that much harder. He doesn't come home to me at the end of a day, he goes home to a hotel or he goes home to Iowa…and yeah, we can come and go and see each other, but it's every couple of weeks at best. Having sex, sleeping with him…I don't just do that blindly; I don't 'hook up' with people, it means something to me."

"You mean it opens you all the way up to possibly falling in love with him?"

"Yep."

"What's so wrong with that?"

Ren cut her eyes at her friend. "How about you just let me climb my tree on my own time…"

Shelby smirked, "well just don't let some other eager little monkey come along and snatch your bananas."

Seth had made his way to the back of the suite and out into the concourse to the bar to replenish his beer and get Katherine another whiskey sour. He leaned against the long bar and watched the game on one of the TVs above and waited for the bar tender to make his way to him.

He had loved every minute of being in Tennessee with Katherine. From Thursday morning when he woke up and visited her at the Sirius XM studios, to being a tourist on Friday all day and getting her unique views on everything and her own little stories, to having dinner with her family Friday night and spending most of their day that day lounging around her house, playing with the dog, until they had started getting ready for the game. He had even somewhat enjoyed the hundreds of picture she insisted on taking.

Having that time with her, and not having to be in a car for four or more hours, or have a show to be at, was refreshing. They had the chemistry, they had to attraction, they had the feelings, they had the friendship; but being able to be in the same place and kindle it had been what, he felt, both of them needed. She was, by far, the first person since he and Leighla had broken up that he had felt anything real for. He wanted to see where it went.

He was already planning out in his head how her first trip to Davenport would go. He was excited.

His excitement faded slightly when he realized that Jonathan had taken a spot right next to him at the bar.

"I meant to tell you earlier but nice jersey," Jonathan said, breaking the silence between them.

"Thank you, Ren got it for me. She felt like I would want to fit in."

"I figured she had something to do with it since it has 44 on it; that's her favorite number."

"I know. It was Hank Aaron's number, she's told me…" Seth responded and glanced down at the empty cups in front of him, mentally urging the bartender to hurry up and come over to him. The one person on his whole trip that he gotten a not so friendly vibe from, even after meeting Ren's parents, was Jonathan, and this was slightly uncomfortable.

It didn't help that Seth was also pretty sure that Jonathan had reached the 'one too many drinks' point of the holiday celebrations that night.

"Is this your last night or are you leaving on Monday?" Jonathan asked.

"I'm leaving Monday morning; I have a flight to Minneapolis at 8:40."

"Ah, so I can expect to not see Ren until lunch time?"

"I'm still trying to talk some reason into her to just let me uber so she doesn't have to miss any more work than she already has. She's under the impression that you'll be fine with it, though," Seth said, casting him a look before giving the bartender a warm smile when he approached and giving him his order. He cleared his throat as he watched him turn to make Ren's drink, "you may want to talk to her about that. I don't make that call."

"You know I was a little surprised by you when she first introduced you; you aren't her usual type. She usually goes for more of a business type; older, clean cut. Mature..."

"Yeah, well, sometimes our 'types' don't work out for us and we need to try something new," Seth replied, again giving the bartender a warm smile and accepting his drinks. He turned to Jonathan and gave him a blank look, almost a stern look.

"Fair enough," Jonathan responded.

"Ok, I know that you don't like me, I've been able to tell since you shook my hand on Thursday. I hadn't been able to figure out though if it's because it's _me_ or if it's because it's _Katherine_ but I'm starting to feel like it's more about her than who she's dating. You won't like anyone, so I'm going to try to not take what you just said personally. I'm not here with any kind of bad intention, I _really_ like her, and if that means I have to fly down to Nashville every week or couple weeks then that's what I have to do. I know she's been hurt, I know she's cautious, I know she's had to fight really hard to find herself and to get to this place where she is, and all I plan to do is find where I fit in to that world. She's doing the same for me. She has a brother and a dad, so she doesn't need you to stand here and interrogate me, and she has me, so she doesn't need you to be anything to her other than her boss, because I'm not going anywhere."

Seth could see Jonathan clench his jaw and he simply offered a small shrug before he took the two drinks and turned back towards the suite to return to Ren and the rest of the game.

Katherine was giving him a questioning look when he returned to their seats. He handed her drink over to her and then settled next to her, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek before sitting back in his seat. She continued to study him expectantly.

"What?" he asked.

"Did you get accosted? Shelby said the boys were restless."

"Um, not entirely, no; I didn't even see your brother. Your boss spoke to me."

"How did that go?"

Seth smirked and cut his eyes at her, "he has a thing for you."

"What?"

"Yeah, he definitely wants you."

"Shut up…"

"No, I've felt it since I met him. Honestly, I kind of already felt it just hearing you talk about him. He does _not_ like me and he made it known."

"What did he say?" she exclaimed.

"It doesn't matter, I handled it."

"What did _you_ say?"

"I told him that I really care about you and I'm not going anywhere so he should probably step back and just be your boss because Kent and I have everything else handled. He's drunk, I don't know if he'll even remember it…" he trailed off and shrugged.

Ren's mouth had dropped open slightly and she was sitting there, turned in her to seat so she could look at him, slightly taken aback by what he just said.

"Don't look at me like that."

"Why do you seem so amused by this? Are _you_ drunk?"

"I'm not even close but I am amused by it…I didn't think I was going to have any competition. I'm just going to have to spend more time in Nashville so I can make sure he stays in his lane."

"Maybe I should go thank him, then," Ren countered, giving him his same teasing smile back to him.

"Just try and resist his charms while you're back there."

Ren made a face at Seth and turned in her seat to settle against the back. She crossed her legs and leaned in to him when he returned his arm to her seat back. They watched the game in silence for a few minutes. Ren hadn't even touched her drink yet. Her mind was slightly spinning with the fact that her boss, and friend, had apparently just pulled a 'dad talk' on her boyfriend, and also that Seth had told him he wasn't going anywhere and that he really cared about her. What a strange little moment of events the night had managed to produce.

"Thank you," Ren finally stated, somewhat quietly.

"For what?" he asked, looking at her.

"I don't know, I just kind of felt like I needed to say thank you," she shrugged. "For not being mad about Hutton, for doing all of this with me this weekend, for being here…for caring about me…"

She could feel him run his fingers along her neck with his hand that was draped around her. "I'm happy being down here; it's been great and I'm already ready to get back on a plane on Wednesday and come right back down here. Plus, I officially have plans for you when you come up to Davenport and you may be taking back your 'thank you' after them…."

"What are your plans? I figured having to visit Iowa was enough of a penance," she teased.

"I'm going to teach you how to wrestle."

They had taken a cab home after the game. Ren had known they would be better off with her not driving and getting tangled up in the parking garage because she knew she would end having a few, or several, drinks that night. They entered the dark house through the front door with Ren quickly crossing the living room to flip on a lamp.

She passed an assessing look over Seth who was giving his phone a confused look. "What's up?" she asked.

"Brandon called me when we were leaving the game but he didn't leave a message and I text him but he hasn't answered me yet," he shrugged. "Brandon doesn't call people."

"Well call him back. I'm not going to keep you from your brother. I need to let Cash out and feed him and the cat anyways."

He nodded with a small smile on his face and crossed the room to give her a quick kiss before he disappeared down the hallway to her room. She watched him for a minute and then busied herself with letting the dog out of his kennel and into the back yard and putting out food for him and the cat.

She got the animals settled and then found herself stopping in the doorway to her room for a second and watching Seth. He had discarded his jersey already and he was sitting on the edge of her bed, taking his shoes off. She took the moment to take him in, and watch the muscles in his arms flex. She smirked to herself as she thought back to Shelby and her 'climb the tree' moment.

"Was everything ok?" she finally asked.

He glanced up at her and nodded, "yeah he fucking pocket dialed me but then he spent 10 minutes trying to talk about Christmas because that couldn't wait until I was home, or back at work…"

"Do you guys have big plan for Christmas?"

"Not really, just us. Bran's girlfriend will be around. There aren't any grandkids or anything yet so it's pretty quiet."

Katherine had made her way across the room to stand in front of him. She used her knee to move one of his legs to the side so she could slip between them. He smiled up at her and linked his arms around her waist as she rested her hands on his shoulders.

"I'm sorry that we won't even get to spend New Year's together," she said, frowning.

The Holidays topic had come up between them on a few occasions. Both of them wanted to do something and have some form of a celebration but Christmas wasn't doable between family time and Seth's traveling. New Year's was more doable but Ren already had long standing plans with Amber to celebrate New Year's in Jamaica. It was somewhat of a bachelorette trip for her but also just two long time friends taking a bucket list trip.

"You've had those plans with Amber forever; you don't have to apologize for that. I mean, I wish I could be on a beach with you instead of in Iowa but it's fine. We'll celebrate when you're home."

"In Davenport?" she smiled.

"I'd like for you to come up there but it would have to be during the week and I don't want you to just…take off work all the time. Plus I feel like good ole Jonathan probably won't approve vacation for you as freely as you think he will and I'm going to need you to be available the last week of March for Mania."

"Oh, you want me to come to Wrestlemania?"

"Mhmm, I need some arm candy for the Hall of Fame ceremony…you know and I guess it'll be nice to have you around…"

"Gosh you're just such a sweet talker," she teased him. "I'm not sure how I could ever say 'no' to you…"

"I may be an uncivilized wrestler but I ooze poetry and charm," he countered.

"Who said you were uncivilized?"

He shook his head and sighed lightly, "apparently I'm not as mature or clean cut or professional as the guys you usually introduce to your people."

Her eyebrows scrunched together and her bottom lip stuck out slightly in a pout, "I don't even need to ask to know who said that to you, and I'm sorry." Seth shrugged in response to her. "And don't play it off. I hope you don't take that to heart, I mean it Colby. You're here for a reason and I am so happy and I'm sorry. You're perfect, ok?"

She ran her fingers through his hair, along the blonde streak, and then settled her hands on both sides of his face. He looked like he was going to speak but she didn't give him a chance; she quieted him with her lips crashing down on his. She loved the feeling of his lips against hers and his beard on her face but in that moment, she needed more from him. Maybe it was the liquid courage the whiskey had given her, maybe it was the words from the night settling in on her, or maybe it was an unconscious realization that this was real; whatever it was had sparked something in her and she slipped her tongue into his mouth while she moved to straddle his lap.

He wasn't protesting and it only took him a few seconds to react. He returned her kiss full force and he tightened his grip on her waist, pulling her forward and closer to him, pressing her against his body. His hands trailed up and under her jersey and t-shirt she was wearing underneath it. The feeling of his rough hands lightly trailing up her back caused a shiver to run through her body. She could hear him laugh lightly at her reaction to his touch.

He pulled away from her, breaking their kiss, so he could lift her jersey and shirt off. He discarded it to the side and took a moment to take her in. She was breathless; he could see that she was breathing heavy, causing her chest to rise and fall against her bra.

He lifted a hand to trail his fingers across her cleavage and clavicle, up to her shoulder and down, hooking his finger in the strap of her bra as he went. He met her eyes and smirked, "do you always wear black lacey bras to hockey games?"

"No, that was for you…"

His dark eyes smoldered at her quick response and then his lips were on hers again. His hand tangled in her hair and then she felt him grip tightly, gently pulling her head back and he started to trail kisses down her neck, down to her shoulder, and then down to her breasts. He muttered praises and terms of endearment in between his kisses. "You're beautiful." "Do you know how amazing you are?" "I'm lucky you're mine."

She let a moan escape her lips at the feeling of his warm mouth on her skin and the feeling of his teeth lightly nipping her nipple. Her mind was a complete fog but the one thing she knew was that this still wasn't enough.

She lifted his head to meet hers, kissing him again and reaching for the hem of his shirt. She wanted skin on skin, she wanted to feel him. He lifted his arms to let her tug his shirt over his head. It was her turn to sit back slightly and take him in. She had seen him without his shirt on, she had watched him change, seen him in the ring, but she didn't think she would ever tire of looking at him.

The moment slowed between them, the heat simmered slightly, and she found herself with her arms wrapped his neck, his hands splayed across her back and supporting her, and they stared at each other for a moment, their faces inches from each other.

He finally broke the moment, nipping at her chin playfully. She smiled and brushed his unruly fly away curls back with one hand.

"Katherine…" he said quietly.

She shook her head, "I'm sure. I want you."

That was all he needed, those five simple words that she said with so much confidence. He picked her up and laid her back on the bed and everything became frantic as they discarded what was left of their clothes in between kisses and exploring hands.

They both reacted to him entering her, their moans mixing with their heavy breathing and then cut off again by kisses. Her nails dug into his back, legs wrapped tightly around him, and she let her head fall back and give in to the bliss and the feeling of them moving together.

This was it, this was right, even with everything it brought along with it. She had no idea why she had waited this long but she knew in that moment there was no where she would rather be and no man she would rather be with.


	13. I'll Be Waiting

**Hey hey! This chapter is a TINY bit shorter than usual but I really wanted to post it today and give us all some warm and fuzzy fluff filler :)**

 **Happy Valentine's Day! and happy reading! Thank you for the favorites, follows and reviews!**

* * *

 **Chapter 13: I'll Be Waiting  
**

Ren spotted her maroon bag on the baggage carousel and squeezed between two men to grab it quickly. She rolled it over to an open space where she could take a quick moment to stand and get settled.

She fished her cell phone from the pocket of her light weight jacket, Seth's performance center jacket that she had stolen when she was in St. Louis, and checked the time. It was 3:12; she was running right on her planned schedule. She quickly opened up her call screen to her favorites, selected Seth's name, and then waited for him to pick up.

Seth has just finished a workout at the Quad Cities gym. He was settled back in a chair, nursing a shaker full of a protein shake, his best friend and business partner Marek Brave seated next to him.

Marek had been chatty that afternoon but in all fairness it had been a few weeks since they had really gotten to catch up. He was full of questions about Seth's trip to Nashville and Katherine in general, namely when she would be making an appearance in Iowa.

"I don't know," Seth shrugged, taking a sip of his drink. "She works during the week when I'm home and vice versa so it's weird, it's hard. I can't ask her to just take off work whenever and lord knows you have to practically sell your soul to get time off from touring."

"What soul you have left," Marek joked.

Seth cut him a look, "hopefully sometime this month will work out. I want her to meet everyone; I want her to see my home. She's coming to the Rumble though."

"This week would've been good since you're off."

"Yeah except she was drinking champagne on the beach in fucking Jamaica. I can't…I'm not mad about it, it just sucked. She had those plans for like a year, I don't really have any room to fight that. Just don't start dating someone right before the holidays because it's shit."

"So you're just going to do this from separate states?"

"We'll make it work," he shrugged. "I'll go down to Nashville all the time if I have to."

Marek's eyebrows lifted, "that serious?"

"It could be." Seth heard his cell phone ringing from his bag and he sat up to reach for it, Ren's name displayed on his screen.

"Speak of the devil…"

Seth gave his friend another look and answered his phone. "Hi beautiful."

"Hi," she responded warmly, sugary sweet. "What are you doing?"

"Talking to Marek, we just finished working out. He's full of questions about you…"

"Oh, is he giving you the third degree?"

"A little bit. What are you doing? Are you home?"

"Um, no," she replied, flatly.

Seth's eyebrows furrowed, "did you get delayed?"

"I'm in Chicago."

" _What?"_ He half exclaimed and half questioned, throwing a frantic look at Marek.

"Ok, I know it's a surprise. I'm…I booked an extra flight from our layover. I didn't want to wait three more weeks to see you. I know I should've said something, probably, I probably should have asked you if this was even ok but I wanted to surprise you, too…"

"Oh, fuck. Um, ok…" Seth stuttered and took a deep breath. Marek smacked his leg, trying to find out what had his friend in a tizzy. Seth waved him off.

"Fuck, I fucked up. I'm sorry, babe…I should've-"

"No no no, don't apologize. Don't- at all. I'm not- upset, I'm just surprised. I…I'm not…prepared. My apartment is a fucking mess, Ren."

He could hear her chuckle softly from her end of the phone call. "I don't care about that, Colb."

"So you're…do I need to come get you?"

"I'm getting the keys to a rental right now. You still have like 3 hours until I'd even get there…"

"Ok."

"Baby, you sure you aren't mad? I just- in my head I thought that two days with you were better than waiting three weeks."

"I'm positive."

"I haven't been able to stop thinking about you…"

"Me too," he paused and took a deep breath. "Ok, be careful, ok? I'll text you the address. Keep me updated."

"I will. I'll see you soon."

Seth dropped his head into his hands when the call ended and then he looked up at Marek who was looking at him like he had just sprouted another head.

"She's in Chicago. She fucking…she's here. She wanted to surprise me."

"Holy shit."

"Yeah, holy shit. I'm not prepared for this at all. I don't even have food in my house. I mean, I'm glad she's here but shit…"

"Well if she's in Chicago at least you have a few hours to get prepared."

"Yeah," he sighed. He reached for his bag and cast Marek another look, "I gotta go. I'll…yeah…"

"Have fun," Marek laughed. "I wanna meet her!"

Katherine hadn't been exaggerating when she had told Seth she couldn't stop thinking about him. The past week and half had been hit and miss for them with the holidays and their separate traveling schedules but they had done the best they could. She had loved her vacation with Amber; it had been a good bonding experience for them, especially since it was somewhat of a last hurrah before Amber and Tyler were married. They had welcomed 2015 at midnight on the beach with a bottle of champagne and she had been in the moment but in the back of her head Ren had Seth on her mind. She wanted his kiss, and to laugh with him and share his space. So she had booked a flight to Chicago in lieu of continuing on to Nashville from their layover so she could at least have the weekend with him.

Now, on her drive from O'hare to Davenport she was starting to second guess herself. She had completely hijacked his time, sprung the visit on him, and she honestly couldn't tell if he was happy or not, despite him telling her not to apologize.

According to the GPS in the rental she was minutes from his apartment complex and she sent him a short text to let him know.

He replied with: _ **I'll be waiting.**_

And he was waiting. She pulled into an empty visitors space outside of his building and saw him standing on the sidewalk, huddled in a hoodie and jeans with a black beanie pulled low right above his eyes, Kevin on a leash and yapping at his feet.

She took a deep breath and shut off the engine and climbed from the driver's side of the car. Oh, there were those butterflies swirling in the pit of her stomach that had been missing until that moment.

He had moved to stand in front of the car and it only took her a few steps to get to the sidewalk before she greeted him with a grin and a tight hug around his neck.

He hugged her tightly, lifting her slightly from the sidewalk and then setting her down, taking a half step back to look at her.

He cupped her face with his free hand and shook his head, "you fucking sneaky little bird."

"I'm sorry," she replied, shaking her head slightly. "I know I should've asked, I just…I-"

He silenced her with a deep kiss. There was nothing short or sweet about it. He tangled his hands in her hair and pressed himself against him, pulling her closer to him at the same time.

If they had been anywhere else but the dark and empty sidewalk in front of his building, if they had been at the airport, they would've been causing a scene.

She gave him a sheepish look when it ended and he ran his thumb along her cheek bone. "I told you not to apologize."

"You panicked."

"I panicked briefly but only because I just wasn't prepared for a guest. Seriously I had laundry piled up in a corner and the only thing I had in my fridge was half and half and some eggs and milk. It wasn't because you were here. I'm happy you're here. I'm fully surprised but I'm happy. I couldn't think of a better way to spend my weekend."

Kevin put his front paws on Seth's legs and barked at him. Ren looked down and smiled warmly.

"So this is Kevin?"

"This is Kevin. He's excited to see you too…"

Ren squatted down and held out a hand to him so he could sniff it. She smiled warmly and scratched his ears. "I've heard a lot about you, Mr. Kevin. It's an honor to meet you."

Kevin barked at her and then licked her hand. She looked up at Seth and then stood up again. "I'm here until Monday morning…if that's ok."

"It's perfect." He gave her another quick kiss and then gently rubbed her arms. "Come on, it's cold out here. Where is your bag?"

"Back seat."

He handed over Kevin's leash to her and then quickly moved to retrieve her bag from the back seat of the car.

"Fuck this is a nice rental car…" he mumbled.

"I have an 'in' with work. Enterprise is a sponsor so we always get the really nice cars for super cheap."

"I'm gonna need you to pass the info along to me for when I'm on the road."

"I'll put you on the list," she smiled.

He took her hand and then led her towards the patio door to his apartment. He held the door for her to let her walk by him, letting it shut behind them. She was in the large living room, one wall covered in a bookcase and his TV, his L-shaped couch across from it.

"This is home," he said, "for now."

"For now?" she asked, looking at him.

"I've been shopping houses around here a little bit. My lease is up soon…"

She squatted down to unhook Kevin's leash. "When is it up?"

"April."

"You have some time, then. I have to move in April, too, so we can bitch about how much it sucks together." She stood up and looked at him, tilting her head slightly and giving him a soft smile. "What?"

"What do you mean 'what'?" he asked. He was still standing in front of the door. He had his hands buried in the front pockets of his jeans and he had been giving her a serious look when she had looked up at him.

"You just had a look; like you were somewhere else."

"I think I'm still processing that you're here. I had literally just told Marek that I had no idea when you would be here and that I didn't know if I would see you before the Rumble and then you called. Now you're standing in my living room unhooking Kevin's leash and I…" he trailed off, letting his words hang in the air and just offering up a shrug to her.

"I like surprises," she grinned at him. She walked over to him and tugged at the sleeves of his jacket so she could get to his hands. He relented to her and she intertwined their fingers together and she shifted to her toes so she could kiss him. "I couldn't wait. I've had you in my head ever since you left for Minneapolis. And it's New Year's…"

"Well it's a few days past New Year's but it's close enough," he smirked.

"I promise, from now on, we'll have a plan. I promise I won't just drop in on you. And I don't want you to rearrange your weekend for me. Honestly I'll just be happy to wake up with you and go to sleep with you. But I couldn't wait Colby."

"Ren, stop, I told you I'm happy. It's still processing but I couldn't be happier that you're here. I didn't have any plans this weekend aside from the usual."

"Video games, crossfit and football?"

"Yes."

"And I don't care if we have to eat take out or if you have a pile of laundry in your living room. I'll do your laundry for you."

"Fuck then you can come to Davenport anytime you want," he grinned. "And not just so I can wake up next you but that's a big plus."

He lowered his head and kissed her again. She could tell he was relaxing. His smile was back, his movements were looser.

"Are you hungry? Did you eat?"

"I could eat," she smiled. "Eggs and milk?"

"No, I got some groceries while I was waiting for you to get here. I am fully prepared to make dinner for you."

"Oh, my boy cooks!"

"Your boy is a good cook, too."

"I can't wait."

He nodded and kissed her again quickly, short and soft. "The bedroom is down the hall. Make yourself at home."

Ren smiled softly at him and reached for her bag to retreat down the hallway to his room. She couldn't help but take a few moments to look around before she heaved her bag on to the bed and began the search for something clean that she could change to. After a long day of traveling she just needed to get into something comfortable.

She appeared back in the living room, changed from her jeans and boots into leggings and an oversized long sleeve USC t shirt. She leaned on the bar top and watched him move around the kitchen.

"I think I could get used to watching you in a kitchen," she stated. His back was to her and he glanced quickly over his shoulder.

"Did you snoop around my room?"

"For about 10 seconds," she answered, smiling.

He turned back around and finally glanced up at her and smirked, "you look a little like a sorority girl."

"What do you know about sorority girls? You didn't go to college."

"I did for a semester or two-ish."

"And you always say you were a scrawny, nerdy, emo kid that had bad luck with girls."

"Yeah well I'm not a scrawny, nerdy, emo kid anymore and I've met my share of sorority girls."

" _Oh_ …" she gave him a playful smile, "should I be worried?"

"No, you could take them."

"So what are we having to eat Chef Lopez?"

"Chicken tacos and I'm even making you salsa. You can thank my dad for this knowledge."

"Salsa that's not from a jar?"

"Sliced and diced with my two hands…"

"Oh I found a keeper."

He smiled at her.

"Would you mind if I hijacked your laundry room and did some of _my_ laundry? I haven't been home since Monday and what I do have with me is mostly dirty…"

"No, I told you to make yourself at home. Whatever you need; have at it."

"I'll throw yours in too."

"Thank you. I um, I got you some tea, the apple cinnamon one you have at home. I was gonna get you some wine but…I had no clue what to get. I don't do wine."

"You could've just asked that," she chuckled. Kevin was sitting close to her and she moved, scooped him up and crossed over on to the tile floor of the kitchen.

"You were driving."

"We can get some tomorrow, babe, thank you." She nestled Kevin in one arm and trailed her other hand up his back and then kissed his shoulder blade. "Tea I will take, though. Mugs?"

He pointed over his shoulder to a cabinet next to the sink.

"Hey, can I ask you about something?" he asked.

"I've been asking you questions since the literal first minute I met you. You can always ask me about something."

She sat Kevin down and retrieved a mug.

"I just, you hadn't mentioned it before and it kind of processed in my head while you were back there changing but…why are you moving? Isn't the house yours?"

"It is but I'm gifting it to Amber and Tyler as a wedding gift. They moved in with me when I came home so I wouldn't be alone and I just…that's their home. I don't want them to have to stress about their wedding and Amber's exams and finding a house and moving so they're staying and I'm going. I'm returning their favor."

"That's…very big of you. You're quite a giver."

Ren smirked as she waited for his Keurig to heat up so she could use the hot water and muttered "and don't you know that…"

He shot her an admonishing look over his shoulder as she continued to smirk.

"I'm sorry," she said, stifling a laugh.

"Behave until we eat, please?"

"Yes sir."

"So where are you going? Are you staying in the city? That part of Nashville where you live is awesome…"

"I don't know," she shrugged. She finished preparing her drink and then moved to lean against the counter near him. "I like our area because it's far enough away from the city but close enough to the city, you know? And everything that I would need or want is close, too. I'm half tempted to get a condo in the Gulch, though. Taylor Swift lives there."

"Fancy…"

"South Nashville has some great condos, too. They're on hills and they have ridiculous views. Part of me kind of wants to go to the country, too, closer to my family but that commute would be dumb."

"So what you're saying is you haven't thought about it at all?"

She laughed, "I've thought about it too much, probably. I don't know…when Amber and I were on our trip we had all of this free time. We hiked and explored and lay on the beach and got massages and we just got to relax and talk; we never get to talk, like _really_ talk, it's always texts or short conversations when we pass each other at the house."

"That's why I couldn't be upset about not spending that time with you. You needed that. I get that; I deal with that with Bran and Marek and my mom…there's never enough time for something real it's just- a highlight reel of what's been going on."

"Yes, that's exactly it. So we talked and…I don't know. I'm starting to lean towards feeling like it's time for me to leave the radio station. So thinking about where in the city I want to go just gets complicated."

Seth paused and looked at her, giving her his full attention. "What?"

"I have a friend who is a host on a morning show in Austin and she's been trying to hire me as an on air producer for like a year now but I don't know, I also want to maybe find an _actual_ photography job. I've put out some feelers in Charlotte, too, and Atlanta and Chicago. Hutton created that job for me and it's been everything I wanted but I don't know if my heart is really in it anymore."

"Wow. You…I'm guessing it has a little bit to do with how he…"

"Yeah a little bit. I don't need to work for him anymore, honestly."

"I'm sorry, Ren."

"No, don't do that. _You_ have nothing to apologize for. This would be happening whether you were in my life or not, it's been brewing for awhile. You just happen to be in my life and I'm really grateful for that." She gave him a warm, big smile and took a sip of her tea. "What I'm saying and why I'm spilling of this right now is; my world is a little hectic right now. My wheels are just constantly spinning in my head and it's...hectic."

"So you came to see me?" he smiled slowly, interrupting her.

"Yes. I missed you because we haven't gotten to talk a lot the last two weeks and because even though we've had to deal with distance and our wonky schedules I've always felt like we have real moments, not just a highlight reel. I can talk to you about deep things or stupid things or not talk to you and just sit with you on the couch but either way I feel better. So I came to see you."

Seth closed the small distance between them and caressed her face before kissing her and then kissing her forehead. "You can come see me any time, at all, planned or not. I'm here for you."

"Thank you."

"I'll make you a key."

"I'll do your laundry."

"Well I would say we have a pretty swell setup, my little bird."

"I dig it."

She patted his chest and smoothed his shirt, a soft smile on her face. He could tell she was happy, he could see it in her eyes, but he could tell she was tired, too, and that having that small exchange with him about _why_ she decided to surprise him had been important to her.

They were together; she was his girlfriend. They shared their days, they shared their beds, they shared their stories about all the time before they knew each other, they shared their feelings; but that was the closest she had come in three months to expressing her real feelings about him, at least out loud. That was a part of her he had known would take time to come out and now it was. Her words were catching up with what he knew through her actions.

"Do you need help with anything?" she asked, breaking the small silence that had settled over them.

"No, I got it covered. You just stand over here and look pretty."

Ren rolled her eyes slightly, "you know I don't know how to just stand still."

"Well then find something to do. Start your laundry. Let the chef do chef things."

She made a face at him, disgruntled, "fine."

He chuckled as she pushed herself off from her leaning position against the counter and started to cross back across the kitchen.

"You know," he started as she moved, "if _all_ of your clothes are dirty I'm not against you just walking around in that little red bikini you were wearing down there…"

"Sir, it is too damn cold up here for that."

"I'll turn the heat up," he shrugged.

"Behave yourself until after we eat, remember?"

"That was a stupid rule."

"Welp, you made your bed Colby Lopez and now you have to lie in it. Just yell for me when the chef is done doing chef things."

Ren laughed to herself at the disgruntled noise he made. "Don't talk to me about beds."


	14. Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

**I'm sorry these updated aren't coming as quickly as they were before...life has just been kind of crazy for me! But here is an update for you! Happy Monday and happy reading!**

 **Thank you for the love and follows and favorites!**

* * *

 **Chapter 14: Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is  
**

Ren was already half awake and she could hear Seth moving around in the living room. He had gotten up to let Kevin outside. She had no idea what time it was, she couldn't quite muster the energy to roll over and retrieve her phone from the night stand. She could barely open her eyes. She was so warm and so comfortable and she just wanted to soak it in.

She could hear Kevin's tags as he trotted through the house and a few seconds later she felt the bed shift under Seth's weight as he got back in to bed. She stirred a little more from her slumber knowing he was next to her.

It only took a few seconds before she felt his hand on her back. She could feel his fingers lightly running up her spine through the thin material of his t-shirt she had managed to hunt down in the dark, lost in the crumpled sheets of the bed, and slip on before she fell asleep the night before. He made it to her neck and he trailed his thumb across the small arrow tattoo that was just below her hair line before he tangled his hand in her hair and kissed her shoulder gently.

"Are you awake?" he asked quietly.

"No," she mumbled.

He chuckled and then she felt him kiss her shoulder again and bite it gently. She turned her head towards him, opening her eyes and letting them focus on him in the dim, morning light of his bedroom. He still looked tired himself, his dark chocolate eyes were heavy with tiredness, and she figured it must be relatively early. Or maybe it was after effects of the short amount of sleep both of them had managed to get.

She smiled softly at him and scooted closer to him, moving onto her side, and he wrapped his arms around her to pull her close to him.

"Good morning," he said and brushed her hair away from her face.

"Good morning."

They kissed softly, Ren tried to move closer to him. There was no place else she would rather be in that moment than sharing sweet morning kisses with him and she wanted to relish every moment of it. She settled her head against his chest, snuggling into him, after they ended their kisses.

"This is what I needed," she sighed.

"You're just using me for my exquisite kissing skills, aren't you?" he teased her.

Ren snorted, "If that's all I wanted I would've found someone that was a little bit closer to my home."

"It is one hell of a booty call," he countered.

"I don't think I've ever had a booty call before," she mused, racking her brain. "I was never into that kind of thing."

"You're an all or nothing kind of girl," he said, trailing his fingers through her hair. "I knew that from the beginning."

"How?"

"You didn't try to take me back to your hotel room."

"Have you had a lot of girls try that?"

"Do you really want to talk about that right now?"

"Well you kind of started it," she said and lifted her head to look at him.

"I wouldn't say a lot of girls but it happens. It happens more through Instagram and twitter and stuff. I did have a front desk girl come up to my room after she got off work one time…"

"Did you let her in?"

"No, I had a girl friend at the time. I passed her off to Dean; it was pre-Renee. Don't you look at me like that, either. You have your fair share of boys drooling over you. I know how to read Instagram comments, too."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she gave him a haughty look and settled her head back down on her chest. "You're making things up."

"Mhmm, ok…"

She laughed lightly at the squeeze he gave her and the light pinch he gave her side. "When are you going to the gym today?"

"Probably whenever I manage to actually get out of bed and moving around so I can just get it out of the way and have the rest of the day for you. You and Kev can hang out and sleep some more."

"Can I go with you?"

"To the gym?"

"Yeah."

"You want to work out with me?"

"Yeah, why not?" she raised her head to look at him again, getting greeted by a slightly wide eyed, questioning look.

"You want to do Crossfit?"

"Yeah, I've done it a few times before. Ew, don't look at me like that!" she scolded him. "I'm in shape and I'm fit…I know what I'm asking…"

"You are but you're like…distance runner, Namaste in shape…" he argued.

"See, this is why I don't date athletes," she scowled at him, her green eyes dancing with entertainment and teasing.

"Well I happen to think that I'm a good catch but go on…" He gave her a cheeky, teasing grin. He was amused by her ire over him questioning her.

"You make us normal folks feel inferior," she responded, "and feel shame for our love of stuffing our faces with nachos and pizza. I work hard even if I don't have six pack abs that you can bounce a quarter off of."

"Do you think you could really bounce a quarter off of my abs?"

"Don't think I won't get out of this bed and go get one just so I can find out."

"You wouldn't."

She cocked an eyebrow at him and scoffed and started to move to crawl her way out of the bed. He started laughing and grabbed her hand before she could get very far and pulled her back to him. She ended up straddling him and they exchanged laughing, amused looks.

"You're a fucking nut," he said.

"Don't tell me I won't, or can't, do something," she replied.

"I definitely won't be making that mistake. Also, I would never, ever shame anyone for stuffing their face with pizza or nachos because I love pizza and nachos just as much as the next person. I really just love food."

She grinned down at him "I know I've seen you eat."

"And you are not inferior, in any way, you have a phenomenal body and I love everything about it. I wouldn't change a thing."

"I do have some little chicken wing arms…" she replied, frowning.

"Well then you can come work out with me and we'll fix that," he laughed. "We probably also shouldn't talk about stuffing things when you're straddling my lap wearing my t-shirt I had on last night and a few pieces of string you girls call underwear. What the fuck is the point of a thong anyways?"

"You know how happy you were to discover it last night? That's the point of it."

"Fair enough, come here," he reached for her, running his hand up her neck before pulling her down so he could kiss her.

She melted in to him, her hair falling around them, and she cupped his face as he slipped his hands under her shirt. He moved to her neck, biting it softly and trailed kisses down to the bottom of her throat. She ran her hand down his bare chest, across his abs, and she let out a soft sigh at the feeling of his mouth on her neck.

"I can't get enough of you, Ren…" he muttered against her skin. "I'm so happy you're here."

She jumped, lifting her head abruptly and then sitting up, giving him a wide eyed look. "Your pocket is vibrating," she laughed.

"I know, I'm ignoring it," he motioned for her again.

"Answer your phone, Colby, it might be important."

He glared at her scolding tone and fished his phone from the pocket of his shorts. He glanced at the screen, "it's my mom…"

"See!"

"Hi, mom," he said as he answered the phone and put her on speaker phone.

"Good morning. Did I wake you up?"

"No, we're awake."

"Good I was worried it might be too early. I know you probably had a late night. Katherine got in okay? Did you actually clean your apartment? Do you have food?"

"She did, she got here fine. I made her dinner, my apartment is clean, and she even helped with my laundry…"

"Wow, you made dinner? I guess I did actually put a few good attributes in you. Is she enjoying herself?"

Seth smirked, looking up at his girlfriend who was still straddling him. She gave him a haughty look at his smirk. "She's been harassing me for the last twenty or so minutes so she's just perfect."

"Well, you probably deserved it," Holly countered. Seth frowned and Ren grinned. "What did you have planned for today?"

"Nothing, really, we're going to go work out and I'll probably take her to lunch and show her around. We're playing it by ear." Seth had been resting his hand on Ren's thigh and he had slowly been letting it drift upwards to slip under her shirt. She swatted his hand away and gave him a stern look.

" _That is your mom!"_ she exclaimed in a hushed whisper.

"Well would you two want to come to the house for dinner tonight?" Holly asked.

"Let me confer with the…never mind, she's shaking her head yes at me. Yeah we would like to do that."

"Colby Daniel, I've told you I hate it when you put me on speaker phone. What if I said something embarrassing and crazy? You never have been able to listen. Katherine, he doesn't listen ever so be firm with him."

"Yes ma'am," Katherine laughed.

"Ok, I'm hanging up now, mom…"

"Six o'clock, tell your brother. Love you."

"I love you too."

He tossed his phone across the bed when she hung up and leveled a look at Ren. She smiled brightly at him. "What's that look for?"

"I have a feeling you and my mom are going to run all over me tonight."

"It's going to be so much fun," she grinned. "I can't wait to see scrawny, nerdy, emo kid Colby pictures from when you were in high school, and hear all the stories about you from your brother. Does your mom have videos of young you backyard wrestling? I want to see those too…"

He tightened his grip on her waist and easily rolled them over, supporting himself over her, his arms on each side of her head and he gave her a serious, stern, almost cocky look. She smiled, slightly laughing, and reached up to brush his hair back with both hands.

"Are you trying to intimidate me?"

"Is it working?"

"Not at all. I kind of enjoy this. You have very pretty eye lashes by the way…."

He shifted and slid his knee between her legs and parted them. She instinctively hooked a leg around his and shifted underneath him. He dropped one his hands to her leg and lightly ran his fingers up it to her thigh and across before he slipped his hand in between them and brushed his fingers lightly across the thin material of her thong.

She let out a soft, short breath and her eye lids fluttered lightly.

"That's working…" he said, smiling smugly.

"A little bit," she replied.

He leaned down and kissed her and then he abruptly pulled away and sat up on his knees and grinned at her. "Good, let's go work out then."

Ren's mouth dropped and she scoffed in protest, "seriously?"

"Yep. Come on little bird; let's put your money where your mouth is."

" _Colby_ ," she protested again as he moved to climb off the bed. "Fucking seriously?"

"Remember that the next time you decide to go to war with me, darlin," he said over his shoulder as he started through the door. "I'm making coffee, get dressed."

"You okay over there?" Seth smirked, glancing over at Katherine in the passenger's seat of his car. They were midway to his mom's house. Their hands were linked together and resting in her lap and he had just felt her squeeze his quickly and tightly.

"Peachy," she replied with a grimace.

He chuckled. She was sore from their workout that morning and he was more than aware of it, but he was going to goad her about it anyways. They had stopped briefly to get a few bottles of wine and flowers on Katherine's insistence and watching her squat to grab a bottle had given him more amusement than it should have as a caring boyfriend.

"What is it?" He asked.

She sighed, "Every single bump this car makes hurts, ok?"

"Legs?"

"My legs, my ass, my pride: it's just a little cocktail of pain, thank you."

He grinned at her.

"And you can just stop that, too," she added, trying to bite back the small, amused smile that was forming on her lips. "You were right; you don't need to say it."

"You kicked ass, though. I was impressed and I'm quite proud."

"Are you?"

"Yeah, you went for it and you went all in. You…you're tough, babe. I love it."

"Thank you."

"You're going to start going to the gym by your house now aren't you?"

" _Fuck_ no!" He laughed at her adamant response. "I _may_ work out with you; may. It was kind of satisfying. I'll stick to my running for now, though."

"You good otherwise? Are you nervous?"

"No, parents don't make me nervous. They love me; fact."

He smirked and licked his lips, "really?"

"Absolutely, babe. I'm the girl friend that if we were to break up, your mom would still ask about me ten years down the road. 'Oh yeah your wife is nice son but whatever happened to that Katherine? I really loved her…' Besides I've kind of already met Holly; that's one down."

"Face Time doesn't count as meeting."

"Are _you_ nervous?"

"I'm slightly nervous."

"Why?" she exclaimed. "I'll make a good impression, I promise."

"Oh it's not you; I would introduce you to the president and not even think twice about it. It's my family, specifically Brandon. I haven't introduced a girl to them in a good year-ish…I just don't know what they'll do or say."

"I'm sure it'll be fine, baby. It's not going to affect how I feel, either. I'm not going anywhere."

"I know I just…want it to be good."

"It will," she smiled and lifted their hands to kiss his. "I'm really the first girl they've met since you-"

"Yes you are," he flipped his blinker and pulled in to the driveway and let go of her hand to put the car in park.

She leaned up to look at the house and then turned a smile on him. She leaned over the arm rest and rested a hand on his face and kissed him. "Thank you for bringing me to meet them. I mean it."

"You're welcome," he replied quietly. "I'm just glad you're so excited about it. It means a lot to me."

She smiled and kissed him again, a few short kisses and ran her fingers down his beard. "Let's go do this."

Seth took her hand when she met him at the front of the car; she was gripping the bottle of wine and flowers in her other hand. He kissed her cheek gently and then quietly led her up the driveway to the house. He didn't bother knocking, which was understandable since it was his mom's house, and he pushed the front door open, leading Katherine behind him.

They had been greeted with smiles and hugs and warm welcomes. Katherine's immediate thought was that Seth was a little crazy to be nervous about the impression his family would make on her. They reminded her of her family back in Tennessee; close, warm and welcoming, and not afraid to give each other a little bit of hell.

When they were leaving almost four hours later, Ren just felt warm and happy. It had been a good night, a great night, really, and even Brandon had kept his brotherly teasing to a minimum. They're drive back to his place was quiet but it was comfortable. He had his hand linked with hers again and resting in her lap and she had spent most of the short drive back to his apartment unconsciously running her fingers up and down his forearm near his wrist.

She had headed straight to the bed room to change once they got home and he had taken Kevin outside. She was snuggled on his couch when he came back in, snuggled under a blanket and checking her phone. Kevin jumped up on the couch with her and she smiled as he made himself comfortable at her feet.

"Missing anything exciting from home?" Seth asked her.

"No, not really, things have actually been pretty quiet. I think everyone is leaving me along since I'm up here with you. I don't hate it."

He leaned down and braced himself with the couch to kiss her lightly, "did you have fun tonight?"

"I did," she smiled, caressing his face gently. "Your family is great; they remind me a lot of my family. I love Holly. It was a really good night."

"They loved you."

"I told you I'm good with parents," she shrugged. He chuckled lightly and kissed her again before standing up to his full height.

"Judging by how comfortable you've already made yourself I'm guessing we're heading towards a movie on the couch kind of night?"

She nodded in response. "I have a whole bottle of wine and a whole tin of tea, I'm all set."

"Let me change."

Ren managed to get herself out from under the blanket without disturbing Kevin and she crossed over to the kitchen while he disappeared down the hallway to his room. She was torn between the wine and the tea. She _did_ have one more night with him, so she didn't mind saving the wine, and she was cold so the tea was calling to her, but the wine buzz was also calling. She finally decided on the wine and searched his drawers for a cork screw.

She finally called to him and he appeared within a few seconds.

"Do you have a cork screw?"

"I honestly don't know," he replied, his eyebrows furrowing as he thought. "If I do you know where it is just as much as I do."

She frowned at him and shook her head while mumbling, "How does any man ever plan to entertain a lady friend without a cork screw?"

"I don't entertain lady friends at my home; you're the exception."

"What you just always went to their place? Actually don't answer that…" she waved her hands at him, shooing him away, "go do fancy technology things and set up your illegal movies on the TV. I'll find the cork screw; I'll sniff it out."

He laughed at her and headed to the couch. He was quiet for a few minutes as she continued to search his kitchen. She finally stumbled upon one, buried in the back of a drawer.

"Fuck yes, I am a queen!" she exclaimed to herself.

"Did you find one?"

"You bet your ass I did. Do you want some? I know you don't really do vino…"

"Yeah, why not?" she could hear him clear his throat lightly before he spoke again. "Hey, can I um…I needed to tell you something, well run something by you not really _tell_ you…"

Ren paused for a moment in the kitchen, letting his words settle over her. Did he just give her a 'we need to talk' prompt? She shifted over to where she could see him over the bar top and raised her eyebrows at him. "Yes?"

"The night before I leave for shows, Leigh usually stops by here to get Kevin, so she's supposed to be coming by tomorrow night. I just…I guess I didn't want you to be caught off guard or anything and if you feel awkward about it, I can make other plans…"

Ren was quiet for a moment, focusing her main attention on getting the cork out of the wine bottle. She tugged on it, hearing the soft 'pop' of the cork coming out and then looked up over at him. He was studying her quietly.

"If she wants to come over here and get him, it's fine. I told you I didn't want you to rearrange anything for me…if that's what you do, that's what you do. Does she know I'm here?"

"I text her and told her this morning."

She nodded and responded with a muted, "ok."

She turned her back to him to retrieve two wine glasses from the cabinet his coffee mugs were in. Luckily, she had spotted those the night before. Slowly but surely she was learning her way around his space.

"Ren?"

When he spoke it came from behind her and she turned quickly to find him standing in the kitchen, right where the tile turned to carpet.

"It's fine," she said again. "You'd already told me that you two were friendly and that you shared Kevin. You aren't standing here telling me you want me to have a girl's night with her and do our nails together. She's gonna get the dog, it's fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," she smiled softly at him. "I am unequivocally sure."

She handed him his glass of wine and smiled again when he slipped a hand around her waist and pulled her close to him. He dipped his head to kiss her. "Thank you for being cool about that."

She shrugged, "I don't have anything to not be cool about."

He ran his thumb across her lips and then they both headed back towards the couch. It took some rearranging of Kevin and Ren getting snuggled back under the blanket before they were both comfortably settled. She had propped her legs across his lap and she couldn't help but smirk to herself at his hands slipping under the throw blanket to lightly graze her legs. Truthfully, she was still sore, and she absolutely wouldn't mind him rubbing her legs in that moment.

She inhaled deeply and studied him for a moment before she settled back and tried to focus on the TV. So she was going to meet Leighla tomorrow, the ex he was still friends with, the ex he shared custody of a dog with. She had a small, sinking feeling, that despite the fact she was going to fight it and try to ignore it, was still lingering. She knew he cared about her, she felt like she could trust him, she knew that he had displayed actions with her- going to his show, being in his home, meeting his family- that weren't normal, fleeting relationship actions. Was the other shoe she had been waiting to drop since all of this began about to drop, though?

There was a part of her that wanted to have a bitter taste in her mouth about it but at the same time she knew she didn't really have any room to complain. She was absolutely right in telling him it was fine, because it _was_ fine. Leighla was picking up the dog and would be in and out and that was it. Ren also knew that Seth had dealt with Jonathan being a first class asshole with absolute grace and maturity and if he could do that for her, she owed him for it.


	15. A Literal Fairy-tale

**Happy Monday! Happy reading! I hope you all enjoy!**

 **Thank you everyone who has reviewed or followed! And thank you for sticking with me..."life" is just crazy right now but I have SO many ideas for this story so please stay tuned!**

* * *

 **Chapter 15: A Literal Fairy-tale  
**

Katherine walked in to her office shortly after lunch on Monday afternoon, fresh mug of coffee in her hand after her first stop in the break room. She dropped her bag of files she had slung over her shoulder next to her desk and kicked off her heels, taking a few seconds to savor the relief. It had been a hectic morning, despite it being a fairly good morning, and in her rush between landing in Nashville, getting home and making it to her lunch appointment, she had grabbed a pair of shoes she never wore and she was suffering from it.

"Hey you," Shelby stated, walking into their office.

"Hey," Ren muttered, looking down at her feet.

"What are you…doing…?"

"Oh god, I grabbed these shoes when I was at home changing and I wasn't really paying attention and they're too small and I'm dying. My mom gave them to me and I didn't have the heart to turn her down…I needed a moment."

"Well you look great otherwise. Look at this tan…you're like…you're like a damn angel."

Ren smirked and rolled her eyes, "yeah well a week in Jamaica will do that to a person. And the skirt is new- it has pockets!"

"I think it was the week in Jamaica and the weekend in your boyfriend's bed…" Shelby teased.

Ren scowled at her, exhaling loudly, "really? Five minutes and we're already starting this?"

"Oh no, I'm going to save it for tonight, but I had to say at least one thing. How was lunch?"

"Lunch was fine," Ren started speaking as she moved to her chair. She quickly typed in her password to unlock her idle computer so she could check her email. "The new crop of interns didn't seem as miserable as the last crop. I told them they had 45 minutes to get here and be in the conference room and then I'll go do their orientation."

Katherine and Seth had risen in the wee hours of dawn that morning so they could both make their flights. Katherine had landed, gone straight home, made herself presentable for work instead of being in running tights and one of Seth's t-shirts, and headed straight for the luncheon she had planned for the new interns that were starting for their spring semester. There were six of them and even though she had only spent a little over an hour with them, they were already making her life easier than the last group she had dealt with.

Jonathan had been at the lunch, as well, since he was in charge of everything. They had been cordial; he had been warmer to her than she had been to him. She was still mad at him for how he treated Seth.

"How was Jonathan?"

"Oh I'm still not speaking to him more than I have to so I can't answer that."

"Katherine…" Shelby said in a scolding tone.

"Nope; nope, nope, no, I am not going to listen to that Shelbs. He needs to apologize and then we can talk but until then I'm acknowledging him as my boss and my boss only. We can communicate about work and that's it."

"Ren, you can't really be surprised that he has a thing for you…"

"It's not even that, honestly, I can deal with that. It's how he acted. He was a complete jackass to Colby on more than one occasion and I don't care if he's been pining away for me since he met my brother ten years ago or if this is some new development because he saw me with a guy; but you can't do that. We're fucking adults and he's my fucking boss- my _boss_."

"Well you have to talk to him eventually."

"Like I said, when he apologizes, we can talk."

"Heaven help the man that scorns Katherine Bolton…" Shelby smirked.

"I am a force to be reckoned with, especially when my heart is involved; you know this." She glanced at the clock on her computer and sighed, "Ok, I need to go wrangle the children. If I don't see you before you leave; 6:00 at the house, bring whatever you want to drink. I'll have Lilly though so try and keep yourself under control."

"I'm not a total lush, you know? But I'll leave the tequila at home…"

Ren winked before grabbing her bag and hurrying out of her office for the conference room. She pulled her phone from a pocket in her skirt to check her messages. She had been texting with Seth since she landed but she knew he was getting ready to work out when she had gotten back to her offices.

Saying goodbye hadn't been as hard this time as it had been the first two times; it had been surprisingly easy and she had boarded her plane with a smile on her face. It helped that she was going to see him again in two weeks; he would be in Nashville and shortly after that she and Amber would be at the Royal Rumble in Philadelphia.

So far the long distance issue wasn't too much of a problem. She just hoped it would continue to be this easy.

She started to mentally go over the things she needed to do the next two days, apart from having Lilly staying with her while her brother was on a business trip, she had her own meetings and work to do, she had a showcase to go to on Wednesday night and a number one party to attend on Thursday night, that weekend she had shows at the Ryman. She was already tired.

She got a text from him as she was walking in to the conference room: _**Kick some ass, babe. I'll be thinking of you.**_ She smiled as she read it and then slipped her phone back into her pocket and looked around the room before her eyes settled on Jonathan.

He was leaning against a cabinet in the back of the room, hands buried in the pockets of his dress slacks, and he raised his eyebrows slightly at her, sending a silent question across the room.

She narrowed her eyes at him and then busied herself with getting the lap top logged in and running and mentally preparing herself for last minute adjustments. She wasn't going to deal with him right now. She had more important things to do.

"Ren?" Jonathan's voice, low and hushed, permeated Katherine's thoughts. She was packing up her papers and her laptop after she had dismissed her new band of interns and they had filed from the conference room.

She flipped her hair over her shoulder as she lifted her head to meet his eyes. She was quiet; just looking at him.

"You did a good job today. You would never be able to tell how much you hate being the intern mother hen," he smiled.

"Thank you." She lowered her head to get back to packing up her things. She was tired and hungry and her feet were killing her. She could still feel his presence and she glanced up at him quickly. "Is there something else?"

"It would be nice if you could pretend to not hate me for maybe ten minutes so we can talk," he responded.

Katherine sighed and stood up straight and glanced in to the emptying office. "Do you really want to do this here?"

"When or where else can I? Trying to talk to you the last two weeks has been harder than trying to break in to Fort Knox."

"I've been busy."

"And that's why I have to stop you at work so I can make you listen to me. So I can I please just have a few minutes?"

"I don't really have a choice," she shrugged.

"Katherine…I am sorry. I mean that sincerely, I'm sorry."

"What exactly are you sorry for, Jonathan? Are you actually sorry for being a total asswad or are you sorry because you can't stand me giving you the cold shoulder?"

"It's not a game, Ren; I am one hundred percent, truly sorry. I know I was an ass, I know I stepped severely over a line, I know I hurt you…I don't know what else you really want me to say. Do you want me to apologize to him, too?"

"No, that's definitely not necessary." She sighed loudly and bit the inside of her lip for a moment before speaking ago. "I just don't understand, really. You're literally the only person that has something against him and I don't get it."

"I care about you."

Ren gave him a slightly exasperated look, tilting her head slightly. "Hutt…"

"I know; you have your dad and your brother and they can do the worrying, I remember that. That's fine but I'm going to worry also and it's going to take some time for me to warm up to him. That's honestly all I can give you right now. I don't want you to be mad at me but I have to be honest with you, too."

"But _why_? He's…he's…there's no reason for this at all. He's a good man; he's smart and he works hard and he's established and successful and he has so much love for what he does and he is so good to me. He makes me _really_ happy and I…I trust him. I actually trust him and I really care about him and that is a big deal for me; you know this."

"Do you love him?"

"I don't know."

"Does he love you?"

"I don't know."

"Well, what I see, other than that I can tell when he's here with you that you're happy-"

"Which should be enough," she interrupted him.

"What I see, is that he isn't here all the time and that also gets to you. I can tell a difference in you. And you've already missed days of work for him. You already have other days that you're requesting off for…that's not you, Ren. You never put yourself or your job on the backburner."

" _That_ is on me, Jonathan. I made those calls; he didn't ask me to do that. And no, it's not me, which is why I have so many damn vacation days saved up. Has it affected how well I do my job any?"

"Not yet."

"It's not going to. If that's your worry than you can let that go because as long as I'm here I'm going to be the best that I am and you should know me well enough to know that. I'm not going to put my happiness on a shelf, though, so if that means I have to take some vacation days or I spend every other weekend on the road, then that's what I'm going to do for now." She took a deep breath as she studied him. "I guess I might as well go ahead and tell you that I've put out some feelers about jobs. I think that I need to move on from here…"

Jonathan smirked, "oh you do? To where? Iowa?"

"No," she cut a glare at him.

"Good because that would be stupid. You don't have to leave here, Ren. This is home for you."

"I do have to. I can't work under you and I think you know that just as much as I do. You don't need to have that….to have that over me. I understand that you care about me Jonathan, whatever form of 'care' you want that to be…but- it's not your place and honestly I think we're at the point where we just don't need to work together anymore. The lines aren't clear anymore."

"Which lines would that be?"

"The boss line and the not-the-boss line. The…caring about me; we can't…it just can't continue like this."

"Is this your notice, then?"

She gave him a slightly taken aback look and shook her head gently. "No, I…no that's not my notice. I put out feelers but I'm not going to pack up tomorrow and ride away into the sunset. I'm not going to just up and leave without anyone to…without a warning. I figured that you at least deserved to know that it may happen, though, sooner or later."

"You might as well make it your notice. If you're planning to leave then you're planning to leave. I do know you well enough to know that you rarely change your mind."

"What?"

"Shelby can handle the interns and everything else until I can find someone to fill your spot. I can bring Ben back, probably…"

"Are you serious?"

"Yes."

She blinked rapidly a couple of times and licked her lips before letting a scoff slip through her lips. "Fine then, I'll give you an official written notice in the morning. Am I free to go now? I have plans tonight."

"Sure…"

She slipped the strap of her laptop case onto her shoulder and scooped up her pad folio, again biting the inside of her lip and she let her thoughts roll through her mind. _What the actual fuck had just happened?_ She thought to herself. She shook her head and glanced up at Jonathan before she walked towards the door. He was staring through the windows in to the now almost empty office, his arms folded across his chest, leaning against the conference table. _Did he seriously mean this?_

She felt it then, the anger. It started to boil under her skin and she tightened her mouth and narrowed her eyes at him. "That was a hell of an apology, you know? You're a seriously selfish person, Jonathan."

By the time she made it through the arena to the parking garage and her car she was reeling. She hadn't even grabbed her coat to fight off the chilly January air; she had just grabbed her purse and left as quickly as possible. The sound of her heels echoed in the mostly empty concrete garage and she fished her phone from her pocket. She had texts from Shelby and Amber and one from her brother reminding her to pick up Lilly from her babysitter.

She wanted to call Seth but she knew it was too close to the start of RAW and she didn't want to interrupt that.

She settled for texting him as she slid into her driver's seat and started her car, hoping it would heat up quickly.

 _ **Were you planning to call after your show tonight?**_

She sat for a minute, enjoying the warm air coming through the vents and waiting to see if he replied. _Did Hutts just fire me?_ She questioned herself.

 _ **As long as it's ok. I know you have Lilly so if you need to handle her it's fine I'll be ok for one night :)**_

 _ **No that's perfect.**_

 _ **You ok babe?**_

 _ **I'm fine why?**_

 _ **Just a vibe I was feeling….**_

Katherine frowned to herself as she read his text. How in God's name was he able to get a vibe through a text message? How did he do that? The heat had finally kicked in and she was already starting to relax a little in the warmth.

 _ **I've just had a long day. Interns *eye roll* I'm fine though.**_

She wasn't going to tell him that she wasn't fine; not right now. His show would be starting in less than half an hour and she wasn't going to have him weighed down or worrying or even mad while he had to be on TV and entertain.

 _ **Well get yourself home and enjoy your sushi and time with Lilly and kick your feet up and relax. And watch your man be awesome on TV**_ _ **I'll go shirtless just for you.  
And I know that just made you smile so keep smiling ok?**_

She had smiled. It was a mixture of making a face at her phone and the message and a smile; but a smile nonetheless. Bless him for knowing the right time to let his ego shine through a little bit.

 _ **Please be careful babe. I'll talk to you after.**_

 _ **Always.**_

Ren dropped her phone into one of the cup holders and sighed, letting her breath out slowly. She was going to go home, enjoy her sushi and relax with Amber, Shelby and Lilly- just like Seth had suggested. There wasn't anything she could do for the rest of the evening; might as well squeeze some enjoyment out of the rest of the day.

"Okay, I have noodles for Lilly and sushi for the big girls," Ren said, coming through the kitchen door with her bags of take out for herself, Lilly, Amber and Shelby.

Her three companions were all in the living room already, comfortably situated on the couches and the TV already tuned to USA for RAW. Lilly had stood up was bouncing up and down on her feet on the couch at the sight of her aunt and Shelby and Amber had both started to make their way into the kitchen to help.

"I was starting to worry you weren't going to make it home…" Amber stated, helping her friend get containers out of the plastic bags.

"Jonathan stopped me to talk on the way out of the office and then traffic and whatever was just crap…" Ren explained and took a deep breath.

"You and Hutton talked?" Shelby piped in.

"I wouldn't exactly call it talking but yeah." She looked at her two best friends who were both giving her quizzical looks. Ren shrugged, giving them an exasperated look and rolling her eyes slightly. "Honestly, I would rather talk about happy things right now."

"Well tell us about your weekend and then tell us about Hutton," Amber said.

"Lilly, come get your food," Ren called, watching as the young girl hopped off the couch and came bouncing in to the kitchen, Cash hot on her heels. "You can eat in there if you want to watch the TV, ok?"

"Are you gonna eat with me?" she asked, giving her a slight pout.

"Yeah we're all going to in a few."

"We just need to have a big girl chat for a few minutes," Amber added in with a sweet smile.

Lilly quietly looked at them and then down at Cash and then took her bowl from Ren before retreating back into the living room.

"I think I hurt her feelings…" Amber frowned.

"Ok, talk," Shelby said. She moved across the kitchen to open the bottle of wine she had brought with her. "Tell us about Iowa…"

Ren smiled softly as she continued to unpack the containers with their sushi orders in them. "Iowa was great- thank you guys both for letting me have that time, by the way. I can't remember the last time my phone was ever that quiet."

"He was excited to see you?"

"Yeah, yeah it was a good little surprise. He panicked for like thirty seconds and then he got himself together. He was just worried because he wasn't prepared to have a quest. I got to his place and he made me dinner and we just spent some good quality time together."

"In bed," Shelby commented and handed a glass of wine to Katherine.

"No," Katherine rolled her eyes again, "it wasn't all in bed."

"The shower, the couch, the kitchen…?" Amber teased.

"I hate both of you. _No!_ We went out and did things too. I went to the gym with him, twice, I met his best friend. He showed me around the city and all his places from growing up. We had dinner with his mom and stepdad and brother Saturday night. I met his ex…" Ren shrugged and took a large swig of her wine.

"Excuse me?" Amber asked.

"They're still friends and she takes care of their dog when he's on the road. She dropped by for like five minutes to get Kevin and said hello and that was it. She was very sweet," Ren shrugged. She was greeted by blank looks from Amber and Shelby. Ren returned their look and then cocked an eyebrow at them. She reached for her keys that were discarded near her on the island and dangled them by a key. "I have a key to his apartment. He says I'm welcome in Davenport anytime, whether he's home or not."

"Katherine Ray Bolton- look at you!" Amber exclaimed. "Wow…"

"He loves you," Shelby grinned.

"I don't know," Ren shrugged. She inhaled deeply and let a silence fall over her and her two friends for a moment. "I haven't…maybe he does but I haven't tried to think about that or dwell on it. I've just been trying to savor the time we've had this weekend. He's…I needed that time with him, to unwind and to have….I don't know- I'm just happy and that's as far as I've tried to think right now."

Amber and Shelby exchanged a quiet glance with each other before Amber spoke. "So what's the next date?"

"Two weeks; he's going to come here and then Royal Rumble weekend."

"Ok so then what happened with Hutton? All of _this_ -" Shelby motioned her hands at Ren and the keys she was still holding in her hand, "sounds like you should be bouncing around here like a damn fairy because you have a literal fairy-tale happening with your life right now but you're all blue and meh…" Shelby asked.

"Well he apologized, firstly, but I countered him and asked him if he was really apologetic for being an asshole or if he was just trying to get me to not give him the silent treatment. He said it was sincere but then he…I don't know, maybe I was being too defensive, but we kind of ended up bickering because he was all 'I care and I know it's not my place but I can't help it' and I told him that he just can't do that and that I'm really happy with Colby so what he's doing right now is selfish."

"That all sounds like a reasonable conversation right now honestly."

"He asked if we were in love and then tried to give me hell about taking vacation days and blaming Colbs for it so I told him that I was looking for a new job and I thought that he should know."

Amber and Shelby both let out low whistles. "I'm assuming he didn't take too kindly to that…" Amber sated.

"He told me that I might as well consider that my two weeks' notice, that he would give my responsibilities to Shelby and hire Ben. So I told him I would give him my official written notice in the morning and then I left."

"He _what_?" Shelby exclaimed.

"Yeah…"

"Ren he can't do that! And you can't do that!"

"I mean…I don't know; maybe I should make it my notice." The three girls were quiet, letting the words settle. Ren took another sip of her wine and sighed and then shrugged. "All I know is that I don't have to really think about it until the morning. I'm home now; I have you two here with me and I have my precious Lilly and I have wine and sushi and I just want to watch my boyfriend and relax."

"Are you going to tell him that you essentially got fired? Your boyfriend…" Shelby asked.

Ren frowned at her, "didn't I just say I didn't want to think about it right now?"

"Do you know me? You know I can't let things go."

"I don't know if I will tonight or not…probably, but I don't know. I'll play it as it goes whenever I talk to him. He's going to feel guilty about it and I know without a doubt he's gonna be pissed."

"As he should be," Amber said. " _I'm_ pissed."

"I am, too," Shelby added.

"As am I but what can I do about it right now? I can't do anything."

"Um we can go over to his condo and '9-5' him and kill him!" Shelby exclaimed.

Ren bit her bottom lip to hold back her laugh.

"Shelby, as a future lawyer I'm going to have to advise against that," Amber said, giving her friend an amused look.

"Ok, so 'kill' is drastic but we could rough him up a little bit. I've watched a lot of crime TV; I know we could get away with it."

"It's not going to do any good, Shelbs," Ren said warmly. "It needs to happen and if it happens this way then it does. I can't…I can't dwell on it right now because I don't want my night to be ruined."

"In other words we're gonna pull a Scarlet O'Hara?" Shelby asked.

Ren laughed lightly and Amber grinned. "What…what are you talking about?" Ren asked.

Shelby fluttered her eyelids and flipped her hair over her shoulder, "I'll think about it tomorrow. After all, tomorrow is another day."

They met her with blank looks.

"Are you two fucking kidding me right now? We are born and raised southern women and you aren't picking up on a Gone With the Wind reference?"

"No, I get it," Amber replied.

"I just…I'm not feeling it. Scarlet O'Hara was a little insufferable…" Ren shrugged.

"I can't believe you two right now."

Amber shrugged, laughing quietly and reaching for her sushi, "it happens. I'm going to go eat and watch RAW now…"

"Wait wait, I got this," Ren laughed, "frankly my dear, I don't give a damn."

Amber laughed loudly and Shelby scoffed at her two friends. "I hate you. I hate both of you. I'm glad Hutton is getting rid of you, Ren."

"I love you, too," Ren gave her a sweet smile. "No come on, let's go watch my man."


	16. Prince Colby

**Hi! Hello! I am so so so so very sorry that it's taken my longer to get this update up than usual. Life is crazy right now...BUT i have PLANS and IDEAS and I promise the next update will come quicker! SCOUTS HONOR!**

 **I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and HAPPY READING!**

* * *

 **Chapter 16: Prince Colby**

"Hey beautiful," Katherine was greeted by Seth's warm voice when she answered her phone later that night. She was snuggled on her couch, partially paying attention to the Food Network and mainly just enjoying the quiet and coziness of her blanket and couch and fireplace.

She was tired, physically and mentally, but she wasn't going to turn in before she got to hear his voice. She needed that.

The night with Shelby and Amber and their long talk about her conversation with Jonathan and the choices that were looming ahead of her had settled her mind a little bit. It had been good to vent with them one Ren had decided she was ready to go into more detail about it. Having Lilly around had been a big help, too. She was so sweet and so cute and it was hard to be blue or angry in her presence.

"Hi you, how are you doing?"

"I'm tired but I'm good; it was a long day."

Katherine snorted, "Tell me about it. I can't believe I'm still awake."

"Mhmm, you shouldn't still be awake…" he countered.

"I know but I really just needed to hear your voice," she said. She snuggled deeper in to the couch, under her fleece blanket, and smiled shyly to herself.

"Gah, you wreck me with those sweet little comments," he replied. "Did you have fun tonight?"

"I did; we ate sushi and I filled Shelby and Amber in on the weekend and we watched RAW. Lilly freaking loved it."

"Did she?"

" _Yes_ ," Katherine said, chuckling. "She was yelling at the TV and she got so excited when she saw you."

"I'm glad she doesn't think I'm mean. A lot of kids don't like me because they think I'm going to act like I do on TV. It's hard to tell a first grader that I'm not going to curb stomp them…"

"I think it helps that she met _you_ first. Hey are you at your hotel?"

"Yep."

"Let me see your handsome face."

She could hear him laugh lightly and she pulled her phone away as he flipped their call over to FaceTime. He was in bed and propped on a couple of pillows against the headboard. She smiled brightly when she saw him and he returned her smile.

"I usually wouldn't give in to such a rude command but you called me handsome, so…" he shrugged.

"Where's Roman?"

"I'm on my own tonight."

"Oh yeah?" Katherine gave him a mischievous look, "whatcha wearing under that blanket?"

"Ma'am!" he responded, a teasing tone, "behave yourself while you're sitting in your living room, please? So uncouth…"

"I can relocate…" she teased him back.

He laughed at the playful spark in her eyes and shook his head. "You're insatiable."

"You don't have any legitimate complaints about that, do you?"

"Absolutely not although it does make it a little hard to sleep alone. I don't have you rubbing your legs all over me and I kind of miss it."

He saw her move her head and her eyes shift to focus on something away from the screen and then he saw and heard her sigh. She looked back at him with a slight frown. "We have a guest…" He raised his eye brows in question at her. "Hold on."

Ren sat her phone down next to her and motioned to her niece who was standing sleepily at the end of the couch, clutching her stuffed dog in one hand and frowning at her aunt. Lilly slowly walked over to her.

"What's wrong?"

"I woke up and I was scared."

"Why were you scared?"

Lilly just shrugged in her response and Ren softened her look at her.

"Did you feel weird not being in your room?"

Her niece nodded and sighed, "And Cash was in my way."

"Cash was in your way? Was he taking up all of the room in the bed?"

"Yes."

"That was kind of mean of him, wasn't it?" Ren chuckled and opened her arms to her, "well come on, you can hang out with me for a little bit. But you _have_ to try and go back to sleep, ok?"

"I will. What are you doing?"

Katherine's eye widened as Lilly started to climb into her lap and she snatched her phone back up, laying her eyes on a slightly amused Seth, who definitely heard her whole conversation with her niece.

"Hi, I'm sorry!"

"You're perfectly fine, baby, I was enjoying that." He watched quietly as Lilly situated herself in Katherine's lap and he gave her a warm smile, "hi Lilly."

Lilly looked up at Ren and then back at the phone, "hi!"

"Do you remember his name?" Katherine asked her.

Her niece responded with 'Colby' but it came out sounding like 'Kobe'.

"That's close enough," he laughed. "Did you have fun watching me on TV earlier?"

Lilly nodded happily, hugging her dog close to her. "I like your flips."

"She told me she woke up and she was scared," Katherine interrupted.

"I heard…what's got you scared Princess Lilly?"

Katherine grinned. Seth had come with her to her parent's house for a family dinner on the Sunday he was in town and Lilly had been decked out in a Cinderella costume, complete with a tiara. He had called her princess all night and also teased Katherine that she must have picked up on that from her.

"I don't know…"

"Well, it looks to me like you've got a dog there that will protect you, so you shouldn't be scared about anything. And if I have to, I'll come protect you, ok?"

"Do you protect Aunt Ren?"

His smiled widened and he chuckled, "I try. I would fight off a dragon for her if I had to."

"Like a prince!" Lilly exclaimed.

"That's right! Prince Colby!" he laughed.

Katherine laughed, too, and rolled her eyes, "well hey Prince Colby…can I call you back in a little bit while I try to get her back to sleep?"

"Yes, I'll be awake. Sweet dreams, Lilly! Remember I got you."

"Goodnight!" she said and waved at him.

He gave her a little wave and then Katherine ended the call.

She had heard her cell phone softly buzzing where she had discarded it on her dresser the whole time she was trying to get Lilly to relax and drift back off to sleep. She knew it wasn't Seth; he knew what she was doing and that she had every intention to call him back as soon as she could. It was annoying her; the light double buzz and the faint light she could see from the screen lighting up with a message.

Was Shelby having a crisis already? Was it her family? What in the world was going on?

Lilly had finally curled up on her side with her stuffed animal dog clutched tightly to her and appeared to have drifted back off to sleep. Katherine climbed from her bed, trying to move slowly and quietly so as not to wake her niece, and grabbed her phone before quickly slipping in to the hallway and closing the door behind her.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me…" she mumbled to herself as she looked at her screen and saw Jonathan's name. She didn't even want to see what he had to say in his texts, let alone listen to the voicemail she could tell she had by the small red icon.

She padded softly down the hallway, back to the living room, and accessed her voicemail as she walked.

" _Hey it's Hutts. I don't know if you're ignoring me or if you're asleep or if you're talking to your guy but…call me back if you want to or text me. I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for how I reacted earlier. I didn't think, I just reacted, and I shouldn't have done that. Please…don't turn in a notice to me in the morning…not unless it's what you really want to do. If anything, let me take you to lunch and let's talk about all of this, please?"_ There was a short pause and she could hear him sigh heavily. _"Yeah so…have a good night and I'll see you in the morning, I guess."_

Katherine sighed herself as she settled on the couch and listened to the voicemail. So now he was backtracking. That was wonderful. It wasn't already an irritating and frustrating situation or anything.

She let her head fall back against the couch and she closed her eyes, letting the warmth of the fire and the quiet house settle in on her while she breathed deeply. She sat like that for a few moments and then opened her eyes, fishing her phone from her lap and calling Seth back.

His voice was low when he answered the phone; slightly raspy and sleepy. She frowned to herself.

"You were asleep…" she said.

"No. No I wasn't," he protested and cleared his throat lightly. "I was starting to drift off a little bit but I wasn't asleep."

"You can go drift off, baby, it's fine. I need to sleep, too, anyways."

"Absolutely not, I need to hear about your day."

She sighed heavily at the mention of her day.

"Mhmm, that's what I thought. I knew something wasn't totally right. What's going on? Was it the interns?"

"Why don't you tell me about your day," she countered.

"There was nothing special about my day. I landed, I took a nap, I grabbed some lunch and coffee, I went to the gym and I showed up here for call. You saw the show. That was my day…"

"You don't have to be short with me."

"You don't have to avoid my question."

"No it wasn't the interns. Surprisingly, this little herd of interns doesn't seem to be that bad. It's mostly girls and the girls are always easier to deal with. They seem to have their shit together. They're all Belmont kids; very hipsterish, very stylish."

"What is it then?"

"I'm just tired; we had a late night and all the traveling this morning and work and Lilly…" Ren trailed off and shrugged to herself in the dark, empty living room.

She knew he could see right through her. He had been seeing right through her since she had text him earlier that day. She just wasn't entirely sure that she wanted to have the conversation with him that she was inevitably going to have.

"Katherine," he stated in an almost scolding tone to his voice.

"I hate it when you do that to me. It makes me feel like my dad is scolding me and it squicks me out."

"Well I hate it when you get stubborn and won't just talk to me. I don't like having to dig. I'm tired, too."

"I talked to Jonathan this afternoon after the training. It didn't exactly go well."

"Oh boy…"

"He pulled me aside and told me that trying to track me down lately was impossible so he would appreciate it if I would give him a few minutes to talk, so I did."

"And?"

"And he apologized kind of."

"Kind of?"

"He apologized but it was one of those 'I'm sorry, but…' kind of apologies and to be honest it pissed me off. I told him he was selfish and that I didn't understand him and that I was making my choices with my life and I wasn't going to put my happiness on the shelf and you made me really happy, and then I told him that I had started to look for another job because we needed to not work together and he told me that I might as well consider that my two week notice."

"He what?"

"He said he would hand the interns over to Shelby and probably hire Ben to fill my job so I didn't have to worry about leaving them high and dry. So I told him that he could have my official notice in the morning. But he just called me a dozen times when I was with Lilly and left me a message saying he reacted badly-"

"You don't fucking say?" Seth interrupted, scoffing and muttering something she couldn't understand.

"What?" she asked.

"He's a dickhead, Katherine. Fuck…he really just pretty much told you to leave right then and there? That was that? Just don't even go tomorrow if he's ready to just push you out the door."

"Well he did tell me that he didn't mean it and asked if I would at least have lunch with him tomorrow so we can talk about it."

"Don't stick up for him, Ren," Seth replied.

"I'm not. That's not what I'm doing."

"What is there to talk about?"

"I guess he plans to pitch me on staying."

"Does he think at this point you would want to? He all but fired you because he's jealous of your new boyfriend. Never mind that you've known each other for years, that he's practically part of your family, that you go above and beyond with your job. You're always doing something; in the office or out somewhere or doing something extra because nobody else wants to do it. You start dating a guy that he doesn't approve of and he realizes he wants you for himself, you start to take some time yourself, and he fucking fires you."

"I don't…"

"I don't want to actually fight someone in real life but I really would love to legitimately curb stomp him."

Katherine snickered.

"I'm sorry that I interrupted you I just _really_ hate that guy."

"I know you do and I understand why you do and I don't fault you for that at all. I don't know that he thinks I would want to stay or if he's just scrambling because he realizes that I really may actually leave. I don't think he thought I would accept his 'just make this your notice' bait. I think he thought I would fight him."

He was quiet for a few moments. Ren could hear his bed covers rustling as he moved around or resituated however he was lying and she could hear him sigh. "Are you going to fight it?"

"I don't know," she replied softly. "In that moment I was _so_ mad at him that I just said 'okay' and walked out on him. Now I've had the evening and talking to the girls and you and him trying to backtrack and I don't know. I mean…I wasn't preparing to not have a job in two weeks. I was preparing to find something hopefully soon and be able to move on knowing that I have something in place…"

"What did the girls say?"

"Well, Shelby is ready to legitimately curb stomp him right along with you."

"That doesn't surprise me," he chuckled. "She's got the redhead temper."

"I just…it was a really long day, I guess. I don't think I could make an actual decision right now if my life depended on it. Maybe it isn't such a bad idea; I won't be totally without options but I would also be jobless for the undetermined future and it's scary."

"You'll get snatched up in a heartbeat, Ren."

"I definitely need to sleep on it. I wanted to hear what you had to say…"

"I'm not going to tell you what to do, Ren. That's not my job. My job is to support you and care for you and protect you but decisions like this…I don't want to be too much of an influence on them. Do it for you."

"I already know how you feel about it," she responded warmly.

"I can't hide that."

"You don't need to."

"I think that if you do decide that you just want to walk away now that you'll be fine, though. You say it's scary but you're the last person that needs to be scared about anything. Jonathan has made it pretty clear that he thinks you're disposable, or an object." He sighed heavily again. "You should come out on the road this weekend."

"What?"

"Come out on the road with me this weekend. I'll pick you up at the airport on Friday night and you can just spend a couple days with me and the road and everyone here and get away from all of that. Go back on Monday…or don't go back…"

"I…don't you guys already have your rooms and stuff?"

"That's a minor detail. It can be worked out."

"Honestly I would love to come with you this weekend. I don't have anything on my plate and everyone is going to be out of town."

"Good, I'll book your flight in the morning."

"No, I will book my _own_ flight."

"Don't argue with me. You're about to be unemployed."

"Stop it," Katherine rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to be destitute."

"Let me do this for you, Ren, please? Just…let me give you a good weekend."

"Fine."

"Thank you. That wasn't so tough was it?"

Katherine yawned loudly before replying with a "no".

"Go to sleep, baby. We both had long days," he said.

"I guess I need to."

"Get your sleep- get some good sleep- and walk in there tomorrow and do what your heart tells you to do. Don't feel bad, don't feel guilty, don't let him goad you in to anything…don't react because you're mad…do what's best for you. I'm going to support you no matter what."

"You promise?"

"I promise. I…" Seth stopped for a moment, letting a silence fall over them. Ren's eyebrows rose slightly as she sat on her couch, curled up and waiting for him to finish his statement. "I know you'll be fine. You're a bad ass and you're my tough little bird."

"Thank you. I'll keep you updated."

"Please do so I know if I need to come kick his ass or not."

Katherine laughed before she said her goodbye and goodnight to him and they hung up from their phone call. She was smiling. Despite the drama that had come with her day having that night with her friends and her niece and having the time to talk to him had been enough to settle her. She knew what she wanted to do, what she needed to do, and she knew that she was going to be fine and that she had people on her side.

Roman was eyeing Seth curiously as he climbed into the passenger's side of their rental the next morning. They had just stopped to load up on coffee and breakfast and he had watched Seth juggle the items in his hand when his phone started ringing from his pocket and then gotten a death glare when he snickered at his 'hey babe' greeting.

All he had managed to hear of the conversation was 'I need your social' and then a bewildered Seth looked at Roman in need of something to write with, motioning his hands in the air at him.

"I got nothin' man," Roman shrugged.

Seth sighed and rolled his eyes, "give me your phone."

Roman handed it over to him and watched as his friend deftly navigated to the notes app on his phone and typed in the number that Katherine was giving him.

"Thank you. I forgot I would need that. I know you're walking in to work…good luck."

Their conversation continued for a few more seconds and then Seth was hanging up and handing Roman his phone before starting to get settled in his seat.

"Thank you."

"Why do you need your girl friend's social security number?"

"So I can book a flight for her. She's coming with us this weekend. Surprise; you get to room on your own for a few days."

"I'm not mad about that. When did this happen? Didn't she just spend a few days at home with you?"

"Yeah she did, she showed up and surprised me," Seth smiled lightly, reaching for his coffee he had managed to discard in one of the empty cup holders. "She just has a lot going on right now, a lot on her plate; and I don't get to come home and spend time with her or vice versa, but I would like to be there for her, so I told her to come out this weekend."

"Is everything okay?"

"Work stuff, it's nothing _serious_ but she's stressed out about it."

Roman cast a questioning look at him, trying to not take his attention off the road for too long. "Go on…"

Seth sighed heavily, sitting back in the seat. "It's seriously nothing serious. She's going to leave her job, her boss isn't taking too kindly to it, he hates me and thinks it's all my fault and…I don't know. I just thought maybe being with us for a few days would be a good escape…"

"She's leaving her job?"

"Yeah, she's shopping around; Austin, Charlotte, Atlanta, Chicago, there of course…she just thinks it's her time to move forward and do something else. She wants to focus on photography."

"She can work for WWE."

Seth shook his head, "I don't think she would want to."

Roman shrugged, "you never know."

"I don't know that I would want her to, honestly. I know that being away from home and being away from our families and girlfriends or wives or whatever is hard, for us and for them, but…working together and traveling together all the time?"

"Yeah you are kind of a pain in the ass."

Seth shot his friend a look.

"My point is that there is such a thing as _too_ much time together. I think we would drive each other crazy. She's…she's very independent and she's very headstrong and I just don't want that to get lost. We need to have our own things and have our thing. You should understand that."

"I do. Whenever we have a decent stretch off the road there's always that point where everyone is begging me to please leave again. I get it." He cast another look at Seth as he watched him start to mess with his phone and then he snickered just loud enough that Seth could hear him.

"What?" Seth asked, not looking up from the screen.

"You're in love with her. It's very sweet."

Seth sighed loudly, almost a huff. "We really don't have to do this."

"We can have a moment, man."

"I don't…I guess I kind of am…I…" he stuttered over his words and shook his head.

"No there's no 'kind of'- you are or you aren't and _you_ are."

Seth locked the screen to his phone and sat it on his leg and looked at Roman. "I almost said it last night. We were on the phone and we were saying goodnight and I almost said but I stopped and paused and filled it in with something else."

"Why?"

He shrugged, "I don't know that she's ready for that. I don't even know if I'm ready for it."

"If you're feeling it you don't have a choice but to be ready for it. And not that I'm trying to tell you how to feel or go about your life but…that's not something you sit on. Tell her, don't waste time."

"I will."

Roman looked at Seth and raised his eyebrows slightly.

"I _will_. Can we move on from this? We don't do this."

Roman chuckled and shook his head. "Yeah, get her plane ticket. I need to check in with my wife anyways."


	17. Update: Not a Chapter

**Hello everyone!**

 **So I have gotten a few PMs/reviews asking when this story will be updated again and I just wanted to give you all some kind of an update:  
I'm not 100% sure when this story will be updated.**

 **I am not saying that this story has ended- I DO have a lot of ideas/plans floating around in my head. I have just had some personal/health things going on as of late and my work schedule has changed and I've found myself with a lot less free time to write (and way more of an urge to nap alllllllll the time!)**

 **It WILL be updated again; I'm just asking that you all please bear with me because it may be another month or so.**

 **With that being said, along with my ideas for Ren floating around in my head, I've had an idea for a new OC/female superstar character as well as some inspiration for some Colby and Carter one shots. (My head is a busy space, ya'll. Just super super busy haha!)**

 **So please, please stick around and give me some time to get things a little more settled down and running smoothly again and then I promise I will be back!  
Thank you to ALL of you who have checked in on me to see how things were going. It is much appreciated**

 **Love you all, dear readers! Stick around, stay tuned, and watch your emails for an updated chapter!**


	18. We Work

**Guess who is baaaaaaaaack?**

 **I just want to say a HUGE HUGE thank you to everyone who has sent messages to check up on me and everyone who is still jumping on board to start on the journey of this story and all of you who have waited around for me! It's all meant a lot!**

 **So...I hope that this doesn't disappoint since it's been SO long. I'll hate myself if it does...HAPPY READING!**

* * *

 **Chapter 17: We Work**

"These have to hurt," Ren stated out of the quiet in the rental car.

She was lightly grazing her fingertips across the calluses on Seth's palm, his hand open and face up on the arm rest between them. It wasn't a long drive to get them from the airport to the hotel, even with their detour to grab some takeout, and there was a small part of Seth that was almost sad that it wasn't a long drive. There was something about that small space and having her so close that warmed him.

He smirked lightly at her comment, "I don't really feel them anymore but they used to hurt."

"Do you get the rips light the gymnasts do?" she asked.

Seth glanced at her. It was dark in the car but there was just enough light coming from the passing buildings and cars and street lights that he could catch a slight spark in her eyes and a slightly goofy smirk.

"Why are you so delighted by my calloused hands?" he chuckled, pulling his hand away from her. "You're a weirdo."

She scoffed at him and reached for his hand, pulling it back to the arm rest and slipping her hand back into his and squeezing it tight.

"I am _not_ a weirdo and I am _not_ delighted."

"You're a weirdo," he countered.

"I might be a slight weirdo, ok, I'll give you that but I'm not delighted by your calluses. I was just curious. They seem like it would hurt…" she shrugged, "stop giving me a hard time, you're supposed to be treating me like a princess or something."

"I bought you dinner."

Ren cut her eyes at him in the dark, giving him an amused look. "You got a pizza."

"Um, I got breadsticks, too, _ma'am_ ," he replied, feigning offense.

"Oh my, you do spoil me!" she laughed, her amused smirk changing to a grin.

He exchanged a quick look and a smile with her. She released her hold on his hand and reached up to trail her fingers through the blonde streak in his hair, pulled tight in a low bun. She let her fingers trail down and she gently rubbed his neck.

"You are very good to me," she said after a quiet moment, this time not in the same joking tone she had used seconds earlier.

Seth in haled deeply and reached for her hand, tangling his fingers with hers and kissing her knuckles lightly.

"You're my girl," he shrugged nonchalantly.

She gave him a sweet look and shook her head slightly, shaking some of her loose hairs from her face. "I know. I just…I feel like I've been a han-"

"Ren, don't," he interrupted her, giving her a glance.

She quietly pursed her lips together and then glanced up, leaning forward to get a good view through the windshield when she realized he was turning in to the parking lot of their hotel.

He didn't speak again until he had put the car in park and he leaned back in the seat and looked at her.

"You aren't a handful. Well…you _are_ but not for the reasons you're trying to put on yourself. We all go through things; it's your turn right now and somewhere down the road it'll be my turn, and I know you're going to do anything you can do for me to make me feel better and that's what I'm going to do for you. I love having you out on the road with me, I love having you in my home, I love being in Nashville with you. So stop worrying, or stressing, and just…relax, ok? You're perfect."

"Okay," she replied softly.

"And fucking smile, please? Have some fun."

She chuckled and smiled and nodded before leaning over the armrest to give him a quick kiss.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Now let's get inside because this pizza in my lap is about to burn a hole through my leggings. They are on _fire_."

Seth shook his head at the face that Katherine made at him and then moved to follow her from the car and lead her to their room.

The following morning Katherine woke up, blinking at the sliver of sunlight that was piercing through the curtains of the hotel room and falling right on her face, and reaching out to the empty bed. She scrunched up her face in confusion and stretched slightly before she sat up and looked around the room.

 _Did I sleep later than I planned? What time is it anyways? Where the hell is he?_

She had a river of thoughts run through her head as her sleepy eyes finally started to adjust to being open and she reached for her phone. It was only eight o'clock, so she hadn't slept later than she really wanted to, so at least that question was answered. Now where was her boyfriend?

She quickly crawled from the bed to explore the suite and at least see if he had left a note for her. After a quick search, she couldn't find anything, and she resorted to just calling him.

"Seriously….?" She mumbled as she was greeted with rings and his voicemail and she sighed aloud, not bothering to leave one. Almost immediately her phone started ringing in her hand and she eagerly answered it. "Where did you disappear to?"

"I'm getting breakfast and coffee and…I have a surprise for you," Seth's voice greeted her from the other end of her iPhone.

"What kind of surprise?"

"A surprise you'll get when I get back to the hotel."

She rolled her eyes, even though he couldn't see her. "Well…how long will you be? You could have left a note or something…"

"I honestly thought I would be back before you woke up but traffic in Austin is a little hectic this morning. I shouldn't be long. Go shower and get ready for the day or whatever…or just stay in bed, I won't complain about that…"

She could hear the smile in his voice and it made her smile also. "Am I going to the gym with you?"

"You can but I have a feeling you're going to want to occupy your time with something else besides watching me do pull ups."

"I quite enjoy watching you do pull ups if I'm being honest…but why do you have that feeling? What do you have planned?"

"Just a feeling."

"Colby…"

"Yes baby?"

"How do I know _how_ I should get ready if you won't tell me what I'm doing?"

"Make an educated guess but forego the gym. That's all I'm giving you"

"Fine."

"Oh don't sound so grumpy."

"As soon as you get here with that coffee I'll be much better."

"You know there is coffee in the room…"

"Ew…you want me to _make_ my own coffee?" she countered, doing her best to project as much sarcasm into her tone as she could.

"Soon I promise."

She sighed and shook her head and hung up with him after a quick 'goodbye' and 'I'll see you shortly'. She bit her lip as she looked around the hotel room again before trekking to her bag and surveying what she had actually packed in the early hours of Friday morning before she left for work.

If he was going to show up with breakfast and coffee she figured she could at least shower and do something a little more than lay in bed; even if this was a 'vacation' weekend for her. The bed had been _so_ comfortable, though. She couldn't lie that she was tempted to crawl right back in it.

 _No, Ren...get a move on…_ she scolded herself and gathered up her clothes.

She immediately closed her eyes and relaxed into the spray of the hot water coming from the shower head as soon as it hit her shoulders and she turned underneath it, letting the water soak her hair as she ran her fingers through the tangles. What was it about that moment that felt better to her than all of the other mornings she started the same way that week?

She wasn't at home. She hadn't woken up to familiarity and the smell of her house, her room, coffee brewing in the kitchen, and the jangle of Cash's dog tags.

 _Colby…_ she thought to herself as a small smile played on her lips. He was the difference.

She let her thoughts wander to the night before as they relaxed in their hotel room and she proceeded to wash her hair and relish the hot water and steam and coconut scent that filled the room.

 _They had eaten the pizza, and breadsticks, and really just relaxed around the room. She had started to note in her mind that he was much more settled when he was away from home. It seemed like at home his mind was always one step ahead of what he was doing, always on the go. It was hard for him to sit still and be in one place. He had his legs stretched out in front of him on the bed, leaning against the headboard of the king sized bed, and he was relaxed. Ren had been laying on her stomach, halfway paying attention to the news on the TV and halfway trying not to melt straight out of her skin at the feeling of his finger tips occasionally brushing against her bare legs. She knew he was purposefully trying to make her squirm and she was trying her best to not give him the satisfaction._

 _She had glanced at her phone as it vibrated a few times from its place lying next to her on the bed. He watched her intently as she read the texts and locked her phone and inhaled deeply._

" _What is it?" he asked, his hand stopping._

 _She dropped her head into her hands, her hair falling all around her, and made a very frustrated noise; it was a mixture of a growl and a groan and a muffled yell._

" _Ren?"_

 _She turned her head to look at him and his softened look he directed at her. He made a quick, silent, movement with his head, beckoning her, and she moved quietly to curl up next to him and settle into the arm he draped around her._

" _I think you should probably try to ignore your phone," he said quietly, kissing her head._

" _Probably," she replied._

" _What was it?"_

 _She sighed and shifted, sitting up a little so she could actually look at him as she spoke. She shook her head, biting her cheek and then let out another small, frustrated noise. "I haven't talked to my family yet about...leaving my job."_

" _Why not?"_

 _She shrugged, "I just hadn't done it yet. I planned to tell them all on Wednesday when we have dinner. I mean, up until coffee and breakfast today I hadn't even made a full decision on what exactly I was doing. And I should have known that it would be impossible for me to just escape for a few days and not have to worry about it because of course Jonathan went to my brother about everything, spun some 'I hope this doesn't affect our friendship and my relationship with everyone' story and now Kent asked me about it."_

 _Seth rolled his eyes at the news, although he could say he was surprised either._

" _And it's not a big deal," she continued. "It's just frustrating. I told Kent I would talk to him when I get home and I just wanted to enjoy the weekend and it's fine."_

" _It's just frustrating," he repeated her own words._

 _She nodded, keeping her eyes locked with his. She pulled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them and set her chin on her knees for a moment before looking at him again. "What if I made a bad decision?"_

" _You didn't."_

" _What if I di-"_

" _You didn't, Ren," he interrupted her, reiterating himself. "Don't doubt yourself."_

 _She frowned._

" _Don't," he shook his head. "You didn't make a heat of the moment, rash decision. It was something you were thinking about weeks ago and it got escalated a little bit but it was still something you thought pretty hard about. You have a plan and you're...you didn't make a bad decision. You made a decision for you, you followed your heart, and that's never a bad decision."_

 _She smiled softly at him and lifted her head. "You're so much wiser than you get credit for."_

" _I'm a very wise, worldly, mature individual," he replied with a smug playful look. "I just don't get any credit for it because of my dashing good looks and because I play a bad guy."_

" _Oh is that it?" she grinned._

" _It absolutely is."_

" _It has nothing to do with the fact you're kind of a meathead and people probably interpret that as….not very smart?"_

" _I am not a meathead."_

" _I'm sorry, I'm mistaken; you're just a Crossfitter."_

" _Speaking of which, have I told you about my workout today?"_

 _She rolled her eyes and then laughed lightly when he reached for her to pull her to him. She ended up settled in his lap, him tucking strands of her hair behind her ears as they took each other in. His eyes were dancing; amused by their short jabs at each other and she couldn't help but smile._

 _He kissed her softly before she spoke._

" _I'm glad I found you," she said. "I'm glad I have you to keep me off the ledge and...we just work well with each other."_

" _We do," he replied._

" _Thank you for asking me to come this weekend."_

" _You're always welcome," he ran his fingers along her cheek and then dipped them under her chin so he could kiss her again. "Ren…"_

 _Her eyes searched his face while she waited for him to finish his thought. She scratched his beard lightly and her head tipped a little to the side in question. "What?"_

" _I'm just...I'm glad I can be around to keep you off the ledge. You've got my support and you're gonna be fine."_

Ren's eyed opened and she ran her hands over her hair again, wiping the water from her face and turning under the stream of water as her thoughts raced around in her head. She blinked a few times, staring at the water falling in front of her, and then she felt the surge of her heart jumping from steady to racing and a flood of warmth flow over her.

 _He was going to say he loves me_ , she thought.

How had it not hit her until just then, in that moment? She knew it. She felt it. She should have seen the look in his eyes and _felt_ the love from him that night before; from their talk to the cuddling and joking about the Law  & Order rerun they had watched to their sex and falling asleep tangled up with each other. She should have already known it.

She should have already said it. _He_ should have already said it.

 _Why_ wasn't he saying it?

She exhaled deeply and then smiled as she leaned against the cool tile of the shower. "He loves me…"

There was a knock on the door and it startled out of her thoughts and reverie so much that she jumped and knocked the shampoo and conditioner bottles off the shelf on the wall. She could hear a chuckle as she breathed deeply a few times, settling herself.

"I just thought I'd tell you that I was back…" Seth's voiced echoed slightly in the bathroom.

She moved to pull back the end of the shower curtain and look at him. He was standing halfway in the doorway, propping the door open and she could see the laughter still on his face.

"Thank you, I gathered as much."

"I didn't mean to scare you…"

"I could've fallen and hit my head and you would have had to explain to my family why I almost died."

"Yeah but you didn't, so it's okay."

She made a playful face at him, sticking out her tongue and grinning. "So what's this surprise plan thing you have for me?"

He shook his head, "nah, not yet. You can find out when you're out of the shower."

"Colbs," she frowned.

"Nope. Enjoy yourself...I'm going to go eat my food…"

He gave her a wink and started to move.

"Hey…" she said softly, causing him to pause and look at her. She took him in for a moment, looking him up and down; from his hat that was cocked sideways and the unruly pieces of curls sticking out from under it, to his shirt and jeans that were slightly ripped and worn in, and probably tighter than any pair of jeans she owned herself.

She loved him. She was definitely, without question, head over heels for the man standing a few feet from her.

"Babe," he stated, snapping lightly to draw her out of her moment.

She blinked a few times and then grinned, "sorry."

"You do realize how incredibly awkward this is right? I mean…" he shrugged slightly. "I'm not complaining it's just...awkward."

"Get in here with me then," she said, her smile quickly turning to a smoldering look.

He narrowed his gaze at her, "don't tease me."

"I'm not teasing."

She could see him swallow hard and he cleared his throat almost too softly for her to make out over the sound of the water and the echo of the room. "We have things to do today and...we will never leave this room if you don't…"

"Yeah, fine, go eat your breakfast or whatever," she said, cutting him off and letting the shower curtain fall back into place, blocking out her view of him. She could hear him scoff at her dismissal and she smiled to herself. She knew it wouldn't take long, and it didn't. It only took about 30 seconds and the curtain moved again and he was wrapping his arms around her in the steam and under the hot water and meeting her in a fierce, deep kiss.


	19. Conspiring and Coincidences

**Hey hey dearest readers! I hope you're all doing well! I had a demand/request/plead for me to do some updating for this story from a dear friend who needed a little pick me up: and her wish was my command! I've had a pretty rough/stressful couple of weeks myself so it was nice to get some writing done! I have all of these ideas and feel like I have no time to get them out! I will apologize that this chapter is a little short but I think it's a good one- I hope you think so too! So enjoy, leave me some love, and I hope you all have a HAPPY HAPPY WEEKEND!**

* * *

 **Chapter 18: Conspiring and Coincidences**

The knock on their hotel room door pulled Katherine from her quiet reverie of scrolling through her various social media accounts and sipping her coffee. Shortly after she and Seth had settled in to eat the breakfast he had gotten for them, his mom had called, and Katherine had insisted he talk to her. They had plenty of time together left for the weekend.

He was sprawled across the bed, lying on his back, his arm draped across his eyes and would occasionally murmur a 'yeah' or 'uh huh'. Whatever Holly was telling him, he definitely wasn't interested, and it amused Katherine.

He peaked at her from under his arm when he heard the knock and gave her a smile.

"That's for you," he said, murmuring it softly enough that it hopefully didn't disturb his mom.

She gave him a curious look, narrowing her eyes at him. "What did you do?"

"Just go answer it."

His response was rushed and hushed but there was a bit of amusement in it.

Katherine swatted at his legs before climbing from the bed and heading to the hotel room door. She could hear him telling Holly he needed to go but he would check in later as she peeped through the small peep hole in the door to see who was waiting on the other side.

Katherine smiled softly and quickly opened the door to a warm and strong hug from Renee Young.

"Renee! Aw, I'm so happy to see you!" Katherine crooned as they hugged.

She was greeted by a bright smile from her blonde, new, friend as they pulled back.

"Well when that one told me my Veronica was going to be around this weekend, I couldn't pass up the chance to come be some company for you."

"You came just for me?"

"Yeah, I mean I guess it's nice to get a few extra days with Dean, too, but I'm 99% here for you."

"Aw, you got me a Renee?" Ren gave Seth a teasing smile as he stood from the bed and stretched.

"She's part of the deal, yes. You're welcome; and Veronica?" he gave them a confused look.

"Yeah," Renee replied.

"Betty and Veronica; blonde and brunette, it's us," Katherine added.

"So you two have to fight over me? That would make me Archie."

"No, Dean is Archie," Renee winked.

"Oh yes, I'm actually just here this weekend so I can see him," Katherine nodded.

Seth pursed his lips together and nodded, making a face at both of the women standing in front of him. "Yeah, I think I've made a mistake…" he stated, teasing.

"It happens," Katherine shrugged, throwing a wink at him.

"Gosh I just love you two, you're so cute. _But_ we have things to do today, Rennie, so I hope you're ready," Renee grinned happily.

Ren gave a curious and slightly apprehensive look to the two of them, looking from Renee to Seth.

"You'll have fun, I promise," Seth said.

"I've got it under control," Renee nodded. "Kiss him goodbye and let's go."

Ren rolled her eyes and shook her head, crossing the small space in the room to leave Seth with a quick kiss and a smile. She gathered her messenger bag and followed Renee out the door into the hallway, letting it fall closed behind them.

"I guess I shouldn't bother asking what kind of things we have to do today?" Ren asked.

"No, you'll see."

"I figured as much..."

Renee wiggled her eye brows at Ren as they reached the elevator. "This is all him, not that I think you won't love the whole day, but I'm just saying...it's all him. He asked for my help and he didn't want you to just be stuck with him and a hotel room all weekend."

"I would've explored," Ren shrugged. "I'm good with new cities and stuff but I'm not complaining. It's...I'm glad you came. Shit has been stressful..."

"I've heard bits and pieces; you have to fill me in on all of it. We'll come up with a plan on who's ass we're going to kick and how badly. Dean will help."

Ren grinned. "Thank you."

Despite the fun and action Ren had experienced that day, she was certain that walking in to the hotel room in the next city at two in the morning was going to her favorite part of the day, especially after their late night drive to the next city along the tour. Just kicking back, relaxing, winding down, and getting her time with Seth before either, or both of them, drifted off to sleep.

It had been a _fun_ day, though.

The 'things' that Renee and Katherine had to do had been a much needed and much appreciated, total relaxation spa day; thanks to Seth. It was perfect and everything she needed and would have never thought to ask for or do for herself. The feeling from the day with Renee, and their late lunch with Brie and Nikki, and time backstage, on top of how perfectly blissed out and relaxed she was, had lasted well in to the evening as she watched the house show and as they traveled.

It was the first time in several weeks she remembered feeling relaxed, and light, and genuinely content and happy. It was a good feeling. It was good to remember.

She couldn't even begin to imagine how she would ever make up to Seth for how amazing he had been to her and for her. Not that she would _need_ to but she was determined to find something, some way, to really say 'thank you' to him.

Her feet were pulled up into the seat of the passenger's side of the rental car; comfortable in leggings and thick socks and a hoodie just big enough that it felt cozy. Her eyes were darting around, watching cars that would pass by them and occasionally glancing at Seth as he drove. They were in a comfortable silence although not for a lack of conversation between them. It had just been a moment to let the music fill the car and share space.

There was a big of Hot Tamales resting in between them in the cup holder area of the arm rest, nestled next to his large coffee and her tea, and she reached for it. She fished a few out of the small opening and studied them for a moment before popping one in her mouth.

"I didn't even know I liked these until you introduced them to me," she stated.

His glance darted to her in the dimness of the light in the car, the only glow coming from the various lights on the dashboard and radio.

"They help keep me awake; the cinnamon taste. They're highly underrated as a candy."

"We always ate sunflower seeds," she responded. "Something about having to concentrate on cracking the seeds and spitting them out would keep me awake. There would just be bottles half full of sunflower seed shells all over our van or whatever car we were in."

"I'm not a hundred percent sure how I would feel about watching you spit shells into an empty bottle."

"That's fair enough. I was never trying to impress anyone so I can't say I ever thought about that."

"You're still trying to impress me?" he smirked.

"Of course I am."

"Babe I've woken up next to you drooling on yourself. All of my illusions have been shattered."

She scoffed and playfully pushed his arm off of the armrest. "I do _not_ drool. Ever! That's a boldfaced _lie_."

He had started to laugh and moved the arm she had just pushed away further over to cup her leg and give her a reassuring squeeze.

"Fine that was a lie but the point is still the same."

"We aren't that far beyond the honeymoon stage, dear. I still like to be impressive for you; clean myself up or doing something awesome or…I don't know, suffer through a workout right by your side."

He cast a glance at her across the dark of the car and gave her a warm smile. "You do all of that plus some."

"Good," she returned his smile.

She cast a glance at his phone that was doubling at their GPS and sitting in between them, somehow staying propped up in the cup holder along with all of their other items. They only had a few more miles until their exit and then the hotel and truthfully, she was grateful for that. She could feel the day start to catch up with her; she was tired.

As if he could read her thoughts in that moment, Seth yawned. Katherine smirked softly to herself and reached for his hand.

"Can I ask you about something?" he questioned out of the blue.

"Yes."

She was met by another quick glance from him.

"Have you…um," he paused and cleared his throat lightly. "Have you considered us? The WWE? Like working with us?"

"Working with you?"

"Yeah."

She gave him a studied and questioning look. "What makes you ask that?"

"Well…I just, I don't know. Roman said something about it earlier this week; I don't know if it was a joke or if he was serious but I was just curious."

"Renee asked me that same thing earlier today."

"What?"

"Yeah, at lunch with Nicole and Brie, she just dropped 'you should just come work with us' super casually. Are you conspiring with her?"

"No," he shook his head emphatically, "no I haven't had a single conversation with her about it. I just…it popped into my head."

"Uh huh."

"What did you say?"

"What did _you_ say? To Roman?"

"I didn't, it wasn't really a deep conversation, but I told him I didn't think you would want to…"

She looked at him silently, waiting for him to continue. She could feel a 'but' at the end of his answer, even though he had paused.

It was a moment before he spoke as he put his focus on navigating them and changing lanes.

"But I don't know…getting to the arena today and you were already there and hanging out backstage with Naomi and Brie and sitting in the makeup chair; you were just relaxed and natural and you kind of just seamlessly fit in."

"Your people are really great. I have fun. So far they've been really welcoming and friendly. You guys are just like a touring band; it's a little family."

"We are for the most part. What did you say to Renee?"

"I didn't answer her. She really did drop it casually and carried on; there wasn't a discussion about it. It's just very coincidental."

"I swear I had no part in that."

"Honestly I hadn't thought about it. It wasn't on my radar. Like, I didn't know that was something I could consider. This is your world, essentially, and I've loved getting to be part of it and learn about it and watch you and meet everyone; it's great. I love it. Not…in the sense that you love it but I love it."

It was his turn to feel like there was a 'but' at the end or her statement.

"But?" he asked.

"But it's _your_ world and I think I would kind of worry that I was crossing some kind of line."

"Ren, you-"

" _And,_ " she interrupted him, "look what I'm walking away from right now. It would be trouble with my luck."

"Yeah except I'm not harboring a secret, jealous love for you. I'm pretty damn open about it."

"You get what I mean," she frowned.

"I do," he replied quickly, nodding slightly. "I get that, that was part of my answer to Roman. That I wouldn't want either of us to lose a piece of what works with us because we do have our own things and we share that and respect that. I still try to impress you, too. It's…I'm a pain in the ass sometimes, I'm moody."

"Oh baby I know that," she chuckled lightly and squeezed his hand. "Just because you've been miles away and on the other end of the phone when you've been in a bad mood doesn't mean you could hide that from me. I just let you think that."

"How kind of you," he deadpanned.

"Is it something you want?" she asked. "To try and explore or whatever?"

"No. Yes and no."

Katherine smiled.

"I'm not going to tell you or ask you; it's a decision for you to make. Either way I'm on board. But, knowing you have a means of work that feels like a home for you and getting more than a few days together every couple of weeks; there's no bad way to look at that. I guess I'm just saying it's a thought."

"Something to think about," she said quietly.

"Something to think about."

It was definitely something she would think about and she would think about it quite a lot. She had already been thinking about it in random spurts of time throughout the day and the show that night. It was one hell of a coincidence that it had been brought up more than once; in joking or in all seriousness.

There was a slight shift in the atmosphere in the car and the space between them after Seth's last statement. They had stayed quiet through the last few minutes of their drive and as they unloaded their bags and checked in to their hotel room.

But her hand hadn't left his in the moments she could easily slip her hand in to his, and he had still held open doors and guided her with the lightest touch on the small of her back. She could tell he was slightly in his head, a little worried that maybe he had crossed his own line by even mentioning it. He just wouldn't own up to that; not out loud. She could sense it, though.

He held the door open for her to move past him and into the room before shutting the door behind them and securing the locks while she searched in the dark for the first lamp switch she could find. It was a series of movements they were used to; part of their routine.

She crossed over to him as he turned on another lamp beside the bed and wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning her head against his shoulder.

His hands found hers and he turned his head to the side to get a glance at her.

"Get outta your head, Colby," she said.

"I'm not, I promise."

"Uh huh," she responded, completely not believing him. He turned around to face her and she wrapped her arms back around him, looking up at him. "It is something to think about it and I will and that's all the weight it needs to carry."

"Okay," he nodded.

She reached up, caressing his face and his beard and running her fingers through his disheveled hair. "I love you and I love being here and I'm just happy and thankful to have this and you and I'm just trying to enjoy the moments and have some faith that what is going to come, will come. You've been…far more than I have probably earned or deserve and…I'm just happy."

Her smiled widened as she watched his smile form and she bit her lip slightly as she linked her hands around his neck.

"And yes, I love you."

He kissed her and tightened his hold on her. "I love you, too, Ren."

"Why the fuck has that been so hard to say?" she exclaimed, laughing lightly as he dropped his hands and hold on her and picked her up, her legs linking around his waist.

"I have no idea but I'm right there with you," he murmured, kissing her neck. "Days…"

"Scaredy cat," she retorted.

"Shut up."

She did, aided by his mouth on hers, and followed by several more 'making up for lost time' utterances of the phrase in between kisses and a night that saw little sleep.


End file.
